Cal Falls at Utah In Pac-12 Opener

Haley Giavara (left) and Erin Richardson (right) fell in doubles at Utah, but Giavara won in singles as Cal rallied late.

WTEN3/3/2023 5:33 PM | By: Cal Athletics

SALT LAKE CITY – Playing in its Pac-12 Conference opener, the 55th-ranked California women’s tennis team lost at No. 56 Utah, 4-3, on Friday indoors at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center.
 
Cal – the defending Pac-12 regular-season champion – has an overall record of 3-5 (0-1 Pac-12). Utah – which lost to Cal 7-0 and 4-0 last year – improved to 9-3 (1-0 Pac-12) in 2023.
 
In doubles, court two finished first, as Cal’s Haley Giavara and Erin Richardson fell to Samantha Horwood and Katja Townsend, 7-5. The Bears’ Makenna Thiel and Hannah Viller Moeller then lost to Kaila Barksdale and Marcela Lopez, 6-4, on court three to hand Utah the doubles point. On court one, Cal’s 16th-ranked Jessica Alsola and Katja Wiersholm were trailing Anastasia Goncharova and Madison Tattini, 6-5, when the match was abandoned since the host team clinched
 
A see-saw battle ensued in singles. Alsola completed her match first, as the 36th-ranked Bear beat Barksdale, 6-1, 6-3, to tie the overall match at 1-1. The sophomore has now won eight consecutive singles matches.
 
Utah won on courts five and four to take a 3-1 lead.
 
Giavara lifted the Bears to within one of Utah when she defeated Townsend, 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-1, on court one, as Cal trailed 3-2.
 
The remaining two matches had gone to three sets apiece, and the Bears still had a chance to pull out the victory by winning both.
 
But the Bears lost on court six, as Thiel fell to Horwood, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, which gave Utah a 4-2 lead and clinched its win over Cal. Wiersholm, ranked 122nd, posted a 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over Tattini on court three, and Cal wound up with a 4-3 loss.
 
The Bears continue Pac-12 play at Colorado on Sunday at 11 a.m. MT.
 
No. 56 Utah (9-3, 1-0 Pac-12) 4, No. 55 California (3-5, 0-1 Pac-12) 3
March 3, 2023, in Salt Lake City, Utah
Eccles Tennis Center
 
Doubles
1. No. 16 Jessica Alsola/Katja Wiersholm (Cal) vs. Anastasia Goncharova/Madison Tattini (Utah), 5-6 Unfinished
2. Samantha Horwood/Katya Townsend (Utah) def. Haley Giavara/Erin Richardson (Cal), 7-5
3. Kaila Barksdale/Marcela Lopez (Utah) def. Makenna Thiel/Hannah Viller Moeller…