The Bears begin the NCAA in Orlando

Stephen Woo/klcfotos

Katja Wiersholm (left) and Jessica Alsola (right) play in NCAA doubles on Tuesday, while Alsola opened NCAA singles on Monday.

WT21/05/2023 16:59 | Author: Dean Caparaz

BERKELEY Golden bears Jessica Alsola and Katja Wiersholm will represent the California women’s tennis team at this week’s NCAA singles tournaments, with Alsola competing in the NCAA singles championships and the two sophomores playing in the NCAA doubles championships at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida. Alsola, ranked No. 55, will face No. 3 seed Lea Ma of Georgia on Monday at 2:30 p.m. EDT/11:30 a.m. PDT. Wiersholm and Alsola, ranked 12th, will face North Carolina’s 5-8 ranked Reese Brantmeier and Elizabeth Scotty on Tuesday. The time of the match will be determined after the end of Monday’s singles matches.

Alsola is participating in the NCAA singles tournament for the second time. The Fresno product has compiled a 29-5 singles record, which includes a 19-2 dual match record, and leads the Bears in wins. Alsola had a strong sophomore season, posting a career-best 18-match hitting streak in singles play that was snapped in the regular season finale. Alsola also had an outstanding fall as she won the consolation singles crown at the ITA All-American Championships.

An All-Pac-12 First Team member, Alsola was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team along with Wiersholm, who was an All-Pac-12 Second-Team selection. Wiersholm, a native of Kirkland, Wash., also won the Golden Bear Achievement Award for compiling the best cumulative grade point average on the Cal women’s tennis team. Both Bears are eligible to be named Academic All-Americans, and CSC will announce the list on June 1.

This will be Alsola and Wiersholm’s first appearance in the NCAA doubles championship series. The two Bears came off strong as they won the doubles title at the ITA Northwest Regional Championships and advanced to the consolation finals of the ITA National Fall Championships. The Bears finished as high as fourth in the ITA dual poll and bring a 16-13 record to Florida.

Cracked Rackets broadcasts postseason matches via their YouTube channel and this page is available here. Orlando live scores are available here. Fans can also follow Bears updates on Twitter at @CalWomensTennis.

The Bears fall to USD to end the team’s season
Jessica Alsola and Katja Wiersholm were key factors in the 28th-ranked Cal team advancing to the postseason. After reaching the semifinals of the Pac-12 Championship, the Bears played 34th-ranked San Diego in the first round of the NCAA Championship, as Cal fell to the Toreros 4-1 in Austin, Texas. The Bears finished the year with a 12-10 overall record and a 7-3 Pac-12 mark as Cal finished second in the conference during the regular season.

Scouting Jessica Alsola & Katja Wiersholm

• Jessica Alsola began her 18-match hitting streak on Jan. 7 when the then-16th-ranked Bear defeated Iowa State’s 114th-ranked Sofia Cabezas 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 at the Weinman Foundation Invitational in Honolulu.
• Alsola’s 18th straight win was a 6-0, 6-1 drubbing of Washington’s Astrid Olsen on April 15 as No. 30 Cal knocked off the 19th-ranked Huskies 6-1 in Berkeley; Katja Wiersholm beat Sarah-Maude Fortin 6-3, 6-1 to get Cal the win
• Wiersholm has three Cal wins and Alsola has two in 2023
• Alsola and Wiersholm had success in the fall as the duo won the ITA Northwest Regional Championships and reached the consolation finals of the ITA National Fall Championships
• The tandem posted an 11-4 tournament record
• Alsola and Wiersholm reached the singles quarterfinals in the ITA regional competitions
• Also last fall, Alsola won the consolation singles title at the ITA All-American Championships, defeating USD’s Solymar Colling in the final 6-2, 6-3.
• Alsola competed at the 2022 NCAA Singles Championships, where the then-71st-ranked freshman fell to Duke’s ninth-ranked Chloe Beck 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the first round.
• Cal Athletics Hall of Famer and former two-time NCAA doubles champion Amanda Augustus The 2021 Pac-12 Coach of the Year and five-time ITA Northwest Region Coach of the Year (including 2021-22) is in his 16th year as head coach at his alma mater.
• Assistant head coach Zack Warren The 2022 ITA Northwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year, who has collected a total of four regional awards, is in his ninth year on staff
• Sean Hill is in his first year as Cal’s volunteer assistant coach after playing as a graduate student on the Cal men’s tennis team in 2022

Scout Lea Ma

• Georgia’s Lea Ma, who has wins over 14 opponents, has a 30-6 singles record
• An All-SEC First-Team selection, Ma had a 10-1 singles record in conference play
• The 5-9 Ma became a singles All-American when he was selected third in the NCAA tournament.
• In her final match, Ma lost to the Tar Heels’ eighth-seeded Reese Brantmeier 6-2, 6-4 as eventual team champion North Carolina blanked the Bulldogs 4-0 in the NCAA semifinals.
• Ma won the singles title at the ITA Southwest Regional Championships in the fall

Scouts Reese Brantmeier and Elizabeth Scotty

• Reese Brantmeier and Elizabeth Scotty (14-5) earned singles All-America honors as they were picked at No. 5-8 in Florida
• Scotty and Brantmeier won the national team title as North Carolina defeated NC State 4-1 in the NCAA Championship final on Saturday in Orlando.
• Two Tar Heels won in singles against the Wolfpack, but were paired with two other teammates in the finals; Scotty and Carson Tanguilig defeated Nell Miller and Amelia Rajecki 6-1 on court two, while Brantmeier and Reilly Tran beat Sophie Abrams and Abigail Renchel 6-4 on court three to claim the doubles point.
• Scotty and Brantmeier last played singles together on April 22 when they lost to Virginia’s Melodie Collard and Julia Adams 6-4 in UNC’s 4-0 final win over the Cavaliers.
• Ranked No. 8 in singles by the NCAA, Brantmeier is also a singles All-American

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