Pac-12 Conference
Hannah Viller Moeller’s clincher led Cal’s dominant victory over ASU in Ojai.
OJAI – Tenth-ranked California thumped No. 27 Arizona State 5-0 on Thursday at Weil Tennis Academy to advance to the Friday semifinals of the Pac-12 Women’s Tennis Championship. Hannah Viller Moeller clinched the Golden Bears’ victory with a win over the Sun Devils’ Chelsea Fontenel.
The fourth-seeded Bears – who play top-seeded and eighth-ranked UCLA on Friday – improved their record to 17-5. Fifth-seeded ASU now has a 14-9 record.
“It was a good victory,” Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. “We were excited to compete today. The team executed their objectives really well. We got ourselves off to a good start today with a well-played doubles point. I was very pleased with that. That set the tone for the rest of the match.”
In doubles, the 56th-ranked pair of Jessica Alsola and Valentina Ivanov defeated Giulia Morlet and Sara Svetac 6-1 and then Berta Passola Folch and Katja Wiershiolm beat Marianna Argyrokastriti and Emilija Tverijonaite 7-5 to wrap up the point.
Cal was dominant in singles, winning every first set. Alsola, ranked 82nd, increased the Bears’ lead to 2-0 with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Svetac, and then Mao Mushika followed with a 6-2, 6-4 result over Rachel Hanford to make the lead 3-0.
Viller Moeller topped Fontenel 6-3, 6-3 to clinch the victory seconds before Lan Mi beat Patricija Spaka 6-2, 7-5 to complete the 5-0 match.
The blanking of the Sun Devils contrasted with the regular-season meeting between the teams in Tempe, Arizona, where Cal edged ASU 4-3.
“Today we won all six first sets, so that tells you the team was really focused and locked in,” Augustus said. “Some matchups were similar to last time. The team just did a really good job. We were ready to play whomever we had to compete against today.”
Added Alsola, “We’re playing a really high level of tennis right now. We’re just on top of our games and came out swinging from the first point. We didn’t give them much room to breathe or come back. I’m really proud of everyone today.”
Cal plays UCLA on Friday at noon PT in the Pac-12 semifinal round. The Bruins defeated Utah 4-1 in Thursday’s quarterfinals. During the regular season, Cal won 4-3 at UCLA,…
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