{"id":638033,"date":"2026-04-30T06:41:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T06:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/638033\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T06:41:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T06:41:17","slug":"cal-heads-south-for-ncaa-championship-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/638033\/","title":{"rendered":"Cal Heads South For NCAA Championship Opener"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Cal <\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRobert Edwards\/KLC fotos \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Mao Mushika and the Bears start the postseason on the road.<\/p>\n

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WTEN4\/29\/2026 1:53 PM | By: Cal Athletics<\/p>\n


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\t\t\t\tThe No. 22 California women’s tennis team opens the NCAA Championship against No. 38 Utah on Friday when the first round of the USC Regional begins in Los Angeles. The Golden Bears bring a 12-7 record into the dual match with 15-9 Utah. The regional features three former Pac-12 Conference teams in Cal, Utah and No. 12 USC, along with Sacramento State \u2014 the Trojans’ first-round opponent.
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\nNCAA Championship \u2013 First Round
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\nVs. Utah (15-9)
\n11 a.m. PT, Friday, May 1
\nMarks Tennis Stadium, Los Angeles, California
\nLive Stream\/Scores<\/a>
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\nUSC hosts the Hornets at 2 p.m. on Friday. The two first-round winners meet in the second round at noon Saturday for the right to advance to the NCAA Super Regional round next week at a campus site to be determined. After the May 15 quarterfinal round \u2014also held at campus sites TBD \u2014 the NCAA Championship concludes May 16-17 with the semifinals and final in Athens, Georgia.
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\nLast Time: ACC Championship
\nBerta Passola Folch<\/a> clinched Cal’s 4-2 victory over Florida State in the ACC Championship first round in Cary, North Carolina, on April 16 before NC State ended Cal’s run in the conference tournament in the April 17 quarterfinals. Against the Seminoles, Mao Mushika<\/a> and Johanne Svendsen<\/a> defeated Eva Shaw and Laura Putz 7-5 on Court 1 to clinch the doubles point for Cal, and Passola Folch bested Mary Boyce Deatherage 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 at Court-2 singles to send the Bears to the quarterfinals. Cal fell to the Wolfpack 4-0 to end its run in Cary.
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\nLast Time: NCAA Championship
\nIn the 2025 NCAA Championship, Cal beat Sacramento State 4-0 in the first round<\/a> and blanked host Washington 4-0 in the second round<\/a> in Seattle \u2014 with former Cal star Lan Mi<\/a> clinching both wins \u2014 to book its spot in the super regional at Georgia. The Bears fell to the eventual NCAA champion Bulldogs 4-0 to end their season.
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\nPassola Folch, Svendsen Named To All-ACC Teams
\nSenior All-American Berta Passola Folch<\/a> and freshman Johanne Svendsen<\/a> were named to the All-ACC Singles teams, the conference announced last Thursday. Passola Folch \u2013 the NCAA Singles Championship runner-up \u2013 was awarded a spot on the first team and Svendsen was named to the third team. They are the third and fourth Bears to receive All-ACC honors, with junior Mao Mushika<\/a> and former star Jessica Alsola<\/a> each claiming All-ACC singles and doubles accolades last season. Passola Folch is the first Bear to earn First-Team All-ACC honors.
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\nPoll Position
\nCal earned the No. 22 ranking in last week’s ITA poll and the No. 27 ranking in this week’s Universal Tennis Ratings (UTR) poll. Last week’s ITA singles rankings featured four Bears \u2014 No. 22 Berta Passola Folch<\/a> (28-8), No. 35 Johanne Svendsen<\/a> (8-2), No. 99 Mao Mushika<\/a> (19-9) and No. 125 Naomi Xu<\/a> (9-2) \u2014 while the duo of Mushika and Svendsen (7-3) was ranked No. 62 in doubles. The ITA will release new team and individual rankings Thursday.
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\nScouting the Bears<\/p>\n


\n\tCal has an 80-43 record in the NCAA Championship, including runs to the super regionals to cap each of the last two seasons.
\n\tThe Bears’ best finishes in the NCAA Championship were runner-up results in 2008 and 2009.
\n\tCal has a 13-1 record in the all-time series against Utah.
\n\tThe Bears last played Utah during the 2024 regular season, defeating the Utes 6-1 in Berkeley.
\n\tCal is 1-1 in neutral-site matches and 5-2 on the road this season.
\n\tThe Bears defeated USC 4-2 in Berkeley in their second match of the regular season.
\n\tCal last played Sacramento State in its NCAA opener last year, shutting out the Hornets 4-0.
\n\tAlong with earning her first All-ACC honor this season, Johanne Svendsen<\/a> has clinched the most Cal victories (4) in 2026.
\n\tSvendsen played for Denmark in Billie Jean King Cup matches against host Portugal earlier this spring.
\n\tSvendsen also competed for Denmark in the Billie Jean King Cup between 2022 and 2025.
\n\tThe Dane has career-best WTA rankings of 361 in singles and 516 in doubles; she is currently ranked 596th in singles and 860th in doubles.
\n\tBerta Passola Folch<\/a> capped an impressive first half of the season when the senior reached the final of the NCAA Singles Championship in the first national individual tournament of her career and earned her first All-America honor along the way.
\n\tThe Spaniard qualified for NCAAs by advancing to the semifinals at the ITA West Sectional Championships in Seattle.
\n\tAlong with Passola Folch, Cal sent three other Bears to the NCAA Singles Championship in Mao Mushika<\/a>, Greta Grecco Lucchina and Naomi Xu<\/a>, while the duo of Mushika and Grecco Lucchina competed in the NCAA Doubles Championship.
\n\tMushika is a doubles All-American, garnering the honor last year when she paired with former Bear Jessica Alsola<\/a> to earn the No. 4 ranking in the last ITA poll of the 2024-25 season.
\n\tThe top of Cal’s singles lineup has come through time and again for the Bears in 2026, with Svendsen posting an 8-2 record on Court 1, Passola Folch tallying a 7-1 mark on Court 2 and Mushika going 8-2 on Court 3.
\n\tThe Bears are led by interim head coach Kris Kwinta<\/a>, who is also in his fifth season at Cal as the Peter Wright Director of Men’s Tennis and is leading the Cal men into their NCAA Championship as well.
\n\tFormer Cal All-Americans Stephanie Kusano Wallace<\/a> and Jean Lozano<\/a> are assistant coaches for the Bears. <\/p>\n

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\nStay Posted
\nFor further coverage of the Bears, follow them on Instagram (@CalWomensTennis<\/a>), X (@CalWomensTennis<\/a>) and Facebook (\/CalWomensTennis\/<\/a>).
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