No. 20 USC Women's Tennis Drops 4-2 Decision Against No. 16 Cal

Saturday, January 31

Berkeley, Calif.

1:30 PM PT

USC

Cal

Two Trojans high five on the basketball court

Photo by: John McGillen/USC Athletics

No. 20 USC Women's Tennis Drops 4-2 Decision Against No. 16 Cal

January 31, 2026 | Women's Tennis

Results

Trojans come up short in singles play against Golden Bears

BERKELEY, Calif. – The No. 20 USC women's tennis team dropped a tightly contested dual to No. 16 Cal, 4-2, on Saturday afternoon at the Hellman Tennis Complex. The match featured three singles contests that went the distance, but the Golden Bears secured the clinch before play could be completed at the final court.

Cal claimed the doubles point after splitting the first two finishes. USC's pair of Lily Fairclough and Jana Hossam opened the day with a 6-3 victory on court one, but Cal responded with wins on courts three and two to take the early 1-0 advantage in the dual.

In singles, USC quickly evened the score as freshman No. 62 Eugenia Zozaya earned the Trojans first point with a straight-set win on court four, defeating Greta Grecco Lucchina, 6-3, 6-3. Cal regained the lead moments later when ninth-ranked Berta Passola Folch outlasted No. 95 ranked Immi Haddad in a three-set battle on court two, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.

The match tightened again when freshman No. 74 Krisha Mahendran delivered a strong response on court five, rolling past Laura Cilekova, 6-2, 0-6, 6-1, to knot the score at 2-2.

Cal then secured the decisive points in a pair of marathon matches at the top of the lineup. On court one, Johanne Svendsen edged No. 16 Jana Hossam in three sets, 6-0, 4-6, 7-5, giving the Golden Bears a 3-2 edge. The clinch came on court three, where Mao Mushika rallied to defeat No. 12 Emma Charney, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.

Play on court six between Naomi Xu and Dani Borruel was left unfinished once the match was decided.

USC moves to 6-2 on the season following the Bay Area weekend, while Cal improves to 2-0 in dual play.