No. 15 Cal Opens ITA National Indoors Vs. No. 5 Michigan

Jessica Alsola and No. 15 Cal hope to add to the program’s 2016 national indoor championship.

WTEN2/7/2024 5:17 PM | By: Cal Athletics

The 15th-ranked California women’s tennis team heads north this week for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, with the Golden Bears opening the tournament vs. fifth-ranked and fourth-seeded Michigan in the first round on Friday at 9 a.m. PT at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle.
 
The annual tournament features 16 of the top teams in the nation – including defending champion, top-ranked and top-seeded North Carolina – competing over four days for the ITA national indoor crown. Cal is one of four Pac-12 teams – including second-seeded Stanford, USC and Washington – vying for the championship in Seattle. In 2016, Cal head coach Amanda Augustus led the Bears to the national indoor title, marking the program’s first national team championship.
 
Match information

 
Cal (2-0) Vs. Michigan (5-1)
When: Friday, Feb. 9, 11 a.m. PT
Where: Nordstrom Tennis Center, Seattle, Wash.
Watch: Nordstrom Tennis Center Livestream, Cracked Racquets Livestream
 
The winner between Cal and Michigan advances to Saturday’s quarterfinal round, slated for 9 a.m. PT at the Nordstrom Tennis Center, to face the winner of the first-round contest between fifth-seeded Pepperdine and Virginia. The semifinals take place on Sunday, and the final is set for Monday at noon PT.
 
Some of the matches at ITA national indoors will take place at the Seattle Tennis Club.
 
Last Time Out: Bears Sweep Through Norman To Advance
Cal defeated Illinois, 4-0, on Jan. 27 and then beat host and No. 16 Oklahoma, 4-3, on Jan. 28 to claim the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Norman and advance to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
 
Cal won the doubles point in both matches. The relatively new duo of Jessica Alsola and Valentina Ivanov (3-0 record) clinched both points, beating Kida Ferrari and Violeta Martinez of Illinois, 6-2, and topping OU’s Julia Garcia Ruiz and Chloe Noel, 6-2.
 
Katja Wiersholm, ranked 36th in singles at the time, clinched the win over Illinois when she beat Josie Frazier, 6-1, 6-2, on court four. Lan Mi secured the victory over the Sooners and booked the Bears’ ticket to Seattle when she…