ROME, Ga. – Two members of the California women's tennis team qualified for the NCAA Singles Championship on Friday, with senior Katja Wiersholm booking her ticket to Baylor with a quarterfinal win at the ITA Conference Masters Championships in Georgia and sophomore Mao Mushika advancing with a win at the ITA West Sectional Championships in Los Angeles.
 
At the Rome Tennis Center, third-seeded Wiersholm, ranked 33rd, defeated UC San Diego's Nos. 5-8-seeded Julia Haynes 6-0, 6-2 in the singles quarterfinals to claim a spot in NCAA singles later this month in Waco, Texas. The Cal veteran withdrew from the semifinals at ITA Conference Masters due to illness.
 
This marks Wiersholm's second trip to the NCAA Singles Championship, including last season, when she lost in the round of 64. She also competed in the NCAA Doubles Championship in 2023, with Wiersholm and Jessica Alsola falling in the round of 32.
 
LOS ANGELES – Mao Mushika earned her second trip to the NCAA individual championships Friday when the 107th-ranked Bear defeated Pepperdine's Vivian Yang 6-1, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the ITA West Sectional Championships at USC. All four semifinalists from west sectionals advance to Baylor.
 
Cal's second-seeded Lan Mi lost in the quarterfinals to UCLA's fifth-seeded Kate Fakih 6-4, 6-3. But the senior could still reach the postseason with a playoff win against Yang on Saturday at 10 a.m. PT. Along with the semifinalists, two quarterfinal playoff winners from west sectionals advance to NCAA singles.
 
Mushika – who played in the NCAA Doubles Championship last May – plays Fakih in the singles semifinals Saturday at 10 a.m. PT.
 
Cal's second-seeded doubles team of Mi and Berta Passola Folch won its opening round of 16 match against Washington's 17th-ranked Reece Carter and Alexia Jacobs 6-3, 6-3. But the Bears lost to UCLA's Fakih and Olivia Center 6-3, 7-5 in the quarterfinals.
 
Playing in the consolation singles quarterfinals, 106th-ranked Passola Folch bested Washington's 54th-ranked Jacobs 6-3, 6-4. The Bear plays Arizona's Midori Castillo in the semifinals on Saturday at 10 a.m. PT.
 
TEMPE, Ariz. – In Cal's third competition of the day, two sets of Bears won in doubles and Makenna Thiel won her singles opener Friday as the Thunderbird Invitational began at Arizona State.
 
In the doubles quarterfinals, Thiel and Naomi Xu defeated the Sun Devils' Karsyn Evans and Emilija Tverijonaite 7-6(5). They'll next play teammates Tiziana-Marie Schomburg and Sophie Hernandez, who beat ASU's Ada Piestrzynska and Aiya Nupbay 6-4 in the opening round. The two Cal duos battle in Saturday's semifinals at a time to be announced.
 
Thiel prevailed in a three setter in the singles opening round of 32, beating Arizona's Teja Tirunelveli 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5). She plays Arizona's Josie Usereau in the round of 16 on Saturday at a time TBA.
 
In an extra singles match, Cal senior Cami Brown beat Northern Arizona's Leontina Stojanovic 6-2, 1-6, 10-6.
 
The annual ASU tournament runs through Sunday.
 

ITA Conference Masters Championships – Cal Results
Nov. 8, 2024, in Rome, Ga.
Rome Tennis Center
 
Singles Quarterfinal Round
[3] No. 33 Katja Wiersholm (Cal) def. [5-8] Julia Haynes (UCSD), 6-0, 6-2
 
Singles Semifinal Round
[2] No. 37 Sofia Johnson (ODU) vs. Katja Wiersholm (Cal), w/o (ill.)

 
ITA West Sectional Championships – Cal Results
Nov. 8, 2024, in Los Angeles, Calif.
Marks Tennis Stadium
 
Singles Quarterfinal Round
No. 107 Mao Mushika (Cal) def. Vivian Yang (Pepperdine), 6-1, 6-3
[5] Kate Fakih (UCLA) def. [2] Lan Mi (Cal), 6-4, 6-3
 
Consolation Singles Quarterfinal Round
No. 106 Berta Passola Folch (Cal) def. No. 54 Alexia Jacobs (Washington), 6-3, 6-4
 
Doubles Round of 16
[2] Lan Mi/Berta Passola Folch (Cal) def. No. 17 Reece Carter/Alexia Jacobs (Washington), 6-3, 6-3
 
Doubles Quarterfinal Round
Olivia Center/Kate Fakih (UCLA) def. [2] Lan Mi/Berta Passola Folch (Cal), 6-3, 7-5
 
 
Thunderbird Invitational – Cal Results
Nov. 8, 2024, in Tempe, Ariz.
Whiteman Tennis Center
 
Singles Round of 32
Makenna Thiel (Cal) def. Teja Tirunelveli (Arizona), 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5)
Josie Usereau (Arizona) def. Naomi Xu (Cal), 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
Emilija Tverijonaite (Arizona State) def. Sophie Hernandez (Cal), 6-0, 6-0
Karsyn Evans (Arizona State) def. Tiziana-Marie Schomburg (Cal), 6-4, 6-2
 
Extra Singles Match
Cami Brown (Cal) def. Leontina Stojanovic (Northern Arizona), 6-2, 1-6, 10-6
 
Doubles Quarterfinal Round
Makenna Thiel/Naomi Xu (Cal) def. Karsyn Evans/Emilija Tverijonaite (Arizona State), 7-6(5)
Sophie Hernandez/Tiziana-Marie Schomburg (Cal) def. Ada Piestrzynska/Aiya Nupbay (Arizona State), 6-4
 
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