Bears Start NCAAs In Orlando

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

WTEN5/21/2023 4:59 PM | By: Dean Caparaz

BERKELEY – Golden Bears Jessica Alsola and Katja Wiersholm will represent the California women’s tennis team in this week’s NCAA individual tournaments, with Alsola competing in the NCAA Singles Championship and the two sophomores playing in the NCAA Doubles Championship at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida. Alsola, ranked 55th, will face Georgia’s third-ranked and third-seeded Lea Ma on Monday at 2:30 p.m. EDT/11:30 a.m. PDT. The 12th-ranked Wiersholm and Alsola will take on North Carolina’s Nos. 5-8-seeded Reese Brantmeier and Elizabeth Scotty on Tuesday, with the time of that match determined after the conclusion of Monday’s singles matches.
 
Alsola will compete 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 second season and posted a career-best 18-match winning streak in singles that was snapped in the regular-season finale. Alsola also had an excellent fall, when she won the consolation singles crown in the ITA All-American Championships.
 
A member of the All-Pac-12 First Team, 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, who hails from Kirkland, Washington, also garnered the Golden Bear Achievement Award for compiling the Cal women’s tennis team’s top cumulative grade-point average. Both Bears are eligible to be named Academic All-Americans, with the CSC announcing that list on June 1.
 
This will mark the first appearance in the NCAA Doubles Championship for Alsola and Wiersholm. The two Bears had a strong fall, when they won the doubles title in the ITA Northwest Regional Championships and reached the consolation final of the ITA National Fall Championships. Ranked as high as fourth in the ITA doubles poll, the Bears bring a 16-13 record to Florida.
 
Cracked Rackets will broadcast the postseason matches via its YouTube channel, with that page available here. Live scores from Orlando are available here. Fans can…