Haley Giavara

Capping off a tough season for Cal women’s tennis, the two Bears that made it into the NCAA singles and doubles tournaments ended their short-lived postseason run.

The future of the program looks strong, as two of Cal’s best players — sophomores Katja Wiersholm and Jessica Alsola — find themselves at the USTA campus in Orlando, Florida, preparing for the national championship.

Despite fighting in a tough battle against the USD Toreros, the Bears lost 4-1 in the first round of the NCAA tournament 4-1.

The Bears head to Austin, Texas for the first round of nationals to face San Diego on Friday after finishing out their season with a barely-winning 12-9 record.

The loss was an upset on the part of USC, as the Bears were seeded higher going into the tournament and were last year’s regular season champions.

Cal, last year’s regular season conference champion, will face the winner of Wednesday’s matchup of the No. 7-seeded Oregon Ducks and No. 10-seeded Colorado Buffs on Thursday to kick off the postseason.

Though Cal had beaten Stanford two consecutive times, this time, the Cardinal took home the win, avenging their previous losses with a dominant performance that resulted in a final 6-1 score.

Winning two matches in a row on Friday and Saturday, the Bears have risen in the national and conference rankings, allowing them to be well-positioned as postseason play rapidly approaches.

Although Cal lost the doubles point against Oregon, it came back with ferocity, winning all six singles lines and posting a victory of 6-1.

With three days of back-to-back games, the Bears defeated both Arizona State and Arizona this weekend before falling short to Loyola Marymount.