On Sunday, Berta Passola Folch advanced all the way to the NCAA singles final, leading Cal to its first national runner-up finish in more than a decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Posting one of the best postseason showings in recent memory, the senior anchored the Bears\u2019 week in Orlando. While Passola Folch charged through the competition, her three fellow Bears \u2014 Mao Mushika, Naomi Xu and Greta Greco Lucchina \u2014 each suffered opening round losses.<\/p>\n
In a crowded matchup of top talent from across the nation, the senior maintained composure until her final set. Passola Folch opened her week with a 6-1, 6-1 win over UCLA\u2019s Mayu Crossley. With a masterful early triumph, she set the tone for matches to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Against Texas A&M\u2019s Mia Kupres in the round of 32, she secured a 6-3, 6-2 victory. The second blowout domination earned her All-America status, the official designation of a rising threat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Passola Folch was no longer competing as an underdog. After that moment, she looked right at home playing among the best in the country. She outplayed NC State\u2019s Gabriella Broadfoot 6-4, 6-3 in the round of 16 as she continuously generated crafty shots with no signs of fatigue.<\/p>\n
In the quarterfinals, Passola Folch defeated Kansas\u2019 Kyoka Kubo, winning 7-5, 6-2. Throughout match play, Passola Folch didn\u2019t blink during long exchanges, keeping her eye on the ultimate prize.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her semifinal game was the defining chapter. Facing Ole Miss\u2019 Emily Welker, Passola Folch encountered her most brutal battle yet. A match of long rallies and tight points forced a third-set tiebreaker. Down a match point, the senior responded with her trustworthy forehand to prevail 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(7). With her win, Passola Folch became the first Bear to reach the NCAA singles final since 2014.<\/p>\n
The final against North Carolina\u2019s Reese Brantmeier was the most intense challenge. Ultimately, Brantmeier outperformed Cal\u2019s veteran with a steadier baseline game and more consistent tempo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Passola Folch fought back with resilience, but Brantmeier pushed harder, securing a 6-3, 6-3 win. For Cal, runner-up status still helped elevate the program\u2019s recognition on a national scale.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cal\u2019s other qualifiers in Xu, Greco Lucchina and Mushika all lost early in the heated tournament. Xu never found a steady pattern against competition, falling 6-3, 6-3 to Appalachian State\u2019s Savannah Dada-Mascoll.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Greco Lucchina managed many extended rallies, but ultimately dropped a tight 6-4, 6-4 loss against USC\u2019s Jana Hossam.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mushika\u2019s first-round contest was the closest of the three. In a duel against Charlotte\u2019s Ni Xi, their long exchanges culminated in a 7-6(2), 6-7(3), 7-5 Cal defeat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In doubles, Mushika and Greco Lucchina fought hard at the net in the first set. But Vanderbilt\u2019s duo of C\u00e9lia-Belle Mohr and Sophia Webster adapted, outperforming the Bears 4-6, 6-4, 1-0(5) to move on.<\/p>\n
Cal\u2019s results across the week were a testament to the slim margin of error at the highest level. All four qualifiers earned their berths, but any small slip in Orlando was enough to shift momentum against the Bears.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite her loss, Passola Folch delivered a run marked by an almost-perfect consistency.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With the dual-match season approaching, the Bears\u2019 week in Orlando is a reminder that one player can shift an entire team\u2019s trajectory. Now the question is whether the rest of the roster is capable of carrying that spark forward in the spring.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Sunday, Berta Passola Folch advanced all the way to the NCAA singles final, leading Cal to its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310263,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[175998,176005,64,63,175995,176009,175994,73337,176001,175999,176003,176007,15142,176000,176004,175996,175997,176002,20525,704,176008,31659,27966,2785,145574,176006,176010,85,80075,747,96250,8451,8453,20526],"class_list":["post-310262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-all-america","tag-appalachian-state","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-berta-passola-folch","tag-clia-belle-mohr","tag-cal-womens-tennis","tag-charlotte","tag-emily-welker","tag-gabriella-broadfoot","tag-greta-greco-lucchina","tag-jana-hossan-salah","tag-kansas","tag-kyoka-kubo","tag-mao-mushika","tag-mayu-crossley","tag-mia-kupres","tag-naomi-xu","tag-nc-state","tag-ncaa","tag-ni-xi","tag-north-carolina","tag-ole-miss","tag-orlando","tag-reese-brantmeier","tag-savannah-dada-mascoll","tag-sophia-webster","tag-sports","tag-tar-heels","tag-tennis","tag-texas-am","tag-ucla","tag-usc","tag-vanderbilt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310262\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}