The fifth-ranked California women's tennis team (2-0) starts its ACC schedule when it hosts No. 21 Clemson on Friday and No. 61 Georgia Tech on Saturday at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
 
The contests are part of a seven-match homestand that began with Cal's season-opening win over UCLA on Jan. 30.
 
Vs. No. 21 Clemson (10-2, 0-0 ACC)
1:30 p.m. PT, Friday, Feb. 20
Hellman Tennis Complex, Berkeley, Calif.
Live stream PlaySight
Live scores StatInput
Admission Free
 
Vs. No.61 Georgia Tech (4-4, 0-0 ACC)
Noon p.m. PT, Saturday, Feb. 21
Hellman Tennis Complex, Berkeley, Calif.
Live stream PlaySight
Live scores StatInput
Admission Free
 
Poll Position
Along with the No. 5 ranking in Wednesday's UTR poll, Cal was ranked No. 14 in last week's ITA poll. Four Bears appear in the current ITA singles rankings: No. 10 Berta Passola Folch (19-5), No. 38 Mao Mushika (11-5), No. 54 Johanne Svendsen (2-0) and No. 60 Naomi Xu (6-6).
 
Scouting the Bears

• Danish freshman Johanne Svendsen – who made her Cal debut in January – boasts career-best WTA rankings of 361 in singles and 516 in doubles; she is currently ranked 579 in singles and 870 in doubles.
• Svendsen has extensive experience playing for her country in the Billie Jean King Cup, competing in tournaments between 2022 and 2025.
• Berta Passola Folch capped an impressive fall season when the Cal senior reached the final of the NCAA Singles Championship in the first national individual tournament of her career and earned her first All-America honor along the way.
• The Spaniard qualified for NCAAs by advancing to the semifinals at the ITA West Sectional Championships in Seattle.
• Passola Folch has won 11 of her last 13 singles matches.
• Sophomore Greta Greco Lucchina also qualified for NCAA singles at ITA West Sectionals, winning a playoff match in Seattle to join Passola Folch in Orlando.
• Overall, four Bears competed in NCAA singles in November, including Mao Mushika, a junior who advanced to the semifinals of the ITA Conference Masters Championships to book her spot at nationals.
• The Japan native garnered doubles All-America honors last year when she paired with former Bear Jessica Alsola to earn the No. 4 ranking in the last ITA poll of the 2024-25 season.
• Earlier in the fall, Mushika partnered with Greco Lucchina to win the doubles title at the ITA Northwest Regional Championships in Berkeley to qualify for the NCAA Doubles Championship.
• Also during ITA regionals, sophomore Naomi Xu made a run to the singles final to claim her spot at NCAAs.
• The Bears are led by interim head coach Kris Kwinta, who is also in his fifth season at Cal as the Peter Wright Director of Men's Tennis.
• Former Cal All-Americans Stephanie Kusano Wallace and Jean Lozano are assistant coaches for the Bears.

 
Scouting the Tigers

• Clemson is ranked No. 21 by the ITA and No. 26 by UTR
• Ria Bhakta is ranked 124th in the ITA singles poll
• Two Clemson pairs are ranked in doubles: No. 23 Jade Groen/Rinon Okuwaki and No. 80 Romana Cisovska/Candela Yecora
• The Tigers posted a notable 4-3 win over then-No. 13 Pepperdine on Jan. 23 but then lost to then-No. 16 Tennessee 4-3 on Jan. 24 at the ITA Kickoff Weekend hosted by the Volunteers
• Clemson's second loss was a 4-3 setback at South Carolina on Feb. 10
• Boomer Saia is in his third season as Clemson's head coach

 
Scouting the Yellow Jackets

• Georgia Tech plays at Stanford on Friday at 1:30 p.m. PT
• Alejandra Cruz is ranked 47th in singles
• The Yellow Jackets split a Valentine's Day doubleheader at home on Saturday, losing to Mississippi State 4-2 before beating Rutgers 6-1
• Rodney Harmon is in 14th year as Georgia Tech's head coach

 
Last Time: Bears Sweep UCLA, USC
In her first collegiate match, Johanne Svendsen clinched then-No. 16 Cal's 4-3 win over then-No. 17 UCLA with a 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-2 victory over Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-2 at court-one singles Jan. 30 at Hellman. On Jan. 31, Mao Mushika defeated Emma Charney 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to secure the Bears' 4-2 win over USC in Berkeley.
 
Next Time
The Bears continue their homestand when they host No. 8 NC State on Feb. 27 and No. 55 Wake Forest on Feb. 28 at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
 
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