BERKELEY – The 14th-ranked California women's tennis team began the dual-match season with a 4-0 thumping of Grand Canyon in the first match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Friday at the Hellman Tennis Complex. With the win – clinched by senior Lan Mi – Cal (1-0) earned a spot in the ITA Kickoff Weekend final Saturday at 1 p.m. PT against No. 17 Oklahoma (3-0), with the victor qualifying for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in February.
 
Cal quickly claimed the doubles point against the Antelopes. The veteran pair of Jessica Alsola and Katja Wiersholm dispatched GCU's Gala Arangio and Valetina Del Marco 6-2 on court two, before Berta Passola Folch and Tiziana-Marie Schomburg eased to a 6-1 win over Angelina Mihajlovic and Bella Crossman on court three to clinch the point.
 
In singles, the 81st-ranked Berta Passola Folch doubled Cal's lead to 2-0 when she bested Mihajlovic 6-1, 6-1 on court five, and then Schomburg added a 6-4, 6-1 win over Peyton Duckett on court six to make the lead 3-0. Mi, ranked 63rd, ended the Bears' day when she topped Dania Deaifi 6-1, 6-4 on court two and gave Cal the 4-0 win.
 
Later in the afternoon, the Sooners similarly defeated San Diego State 4-0 at Hellman to reach the final of the ITA Kickoff Weekend.
 
San Diego State and Grand Canyon play a consolation match Saturday at 10 a.m., before the Bears and Sooners battle for the right to move onto the national ITA tournament.
 
No. 14 California (1-0) def. Grand Canyon (1-1), 4-0
Jan. 24, 2025, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
 
Doubles
1. Mao Mushika/Greta Greco Lucchina (Cal) vs. Dania Deaifi/Karina Hofbauer (GCU), 4-3 DNF
2. Jessica Alsola/Katja Wiersholm (Cal) def. Gala Arangio/Valentina Del Marco (GCU), 6-2
3. Berta Passola Folch/Tiziana-Marie Schomburg (Cal) def. Angelina Mihajlovic/Bella Crossman (GCU), 6-1*
 
Order of Finish – 2, 3*
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. No. 35 Katja Wiersholm (Cal) vs. Karina Hofbauer (GCU), 6-3, 3-5 DNF
2. No. 63 Lan Mi Cal) def. Dania Deaifi (GCU), 6-1, 6-4^
3. Jessica Alsola (Cal) vs. Gala Arangio (GCU), 1-6, 5-3 DNF
4. Greta Greco Lucchina (Cal) vs. Bella Crossman (GCU), 6-4, 4-4 DNF
5. No. 81 Berta Passola Folch (Cal) def. Angelina Mihajlovic (GCU), 6-1, 6-1
6. Tiziana-Marie Schomburg (Cal) def. Peyton Duckett (GCU), 6-4, 6-1
 
Order of Finish – 5, 6, 2^
^Clinched the overall win
 
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