Valentina Ivanov

As Shelton was battling it out in Melbourne, college teams across the country, including No. 11 Cal, participated in the ITA Kickoff Weekend, vying for a spot at the Indoor Nationals in Seattle. While the Bears beat Princeton 4-1 on Friday, San Diego got the better of Cal on Saturday, also with a 4-1 win.

The No. 11 Bears play Princeton on Friday; if they win, they will face the winning team of the Georgia Tech-USD match come Saturday.

Playing one of the most exciting matches of the day, Alsola helped the Bears to edge a 6-1 win over Santa Barbara in their dual match home opener.

Starting out the season in a solid No. 12 spot in the country, the Bears are gearing up for their first two dual matches of the year.

Sophomore doubles duo Jessica Alsola and Katja Wiersholm played especially well in the highly-anticipated ITA Fall National Championships in San Diego. At the ASU Thunderbird Championships in Tempe, Arizona, junior Hannah Viller Moeller was a standout player.

After many wins in both doubles and singles, sophomores Alsola and Wiersholm ultimately brought home the ITA Regional doubles champions title.

Cal women’s tennis got its season underway this past weekend at its home Hellman Tennis Complex and Channing Tennis Courts.

Cal goes into this season as the defending Pac-12 conference regular-season champions. As all returning players, the Bears are hoping to perform once well once again this year, starting off with the Cal Fall Invitational.

Coming off the back of becoming regular season’s Pac-12 champions — with an 18-7 record in the spring — the Bears had hoped to continue their run in the NCAA national championship. Cal was bested by No. 6 North Carolina State 4-0 in Raleigh, leaving the tournament in the sweet 16.

Blanking the Lumberjacks with a 4-0 win, the Bears dealt seemingly just as easy with their second round opponents Texas Tech on Saturday, earning a trip to North Carolina for the round of 16.