Utah Falls 4-1 to Cal in NCAA Tournament First Round

Friday, May 1

Los Angeles, CA

Noon (MT)

University of Utah

California

Utah Falls 4-1 to Cal in NCAA Tournament First Round

5/1/2026 4:02 PM | Women's Tennis

LOS ANGELES – The Utah women's tennis team's season came to an end Friday afternoon as the Utes fell 4-1 to California in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament hosted by USC.
The Utes ended the season with a 15-10 overall record.

DOUBLES
Utah started off strong by clinching the doubles point. The Ute duo of Emma Kamper and Sara Akid started things with a 6-3 win over Cal's Berta Passola Folch and Naomi Xu at the No. 1 spot.

Cal then claimed a win at the No. 3 spot. Utah finished doubles action with a win at the No. 2 spot from Hayley Roberts and Emma Valletta. The Ute pair won in a tiebreak over Mao Mushika and Sophie Hernandez with a score of 7-6 (5).

SINGLES
In singles action, Utah struggled to find momentum. The Bears came away with victories at the No. 2 and No. 4 spots to take a 2-1 advantage over the Utes.

At the No. 6 spot, Hayley Roberts battled in a three set match. Roberts tied the first set 5-5 but fell 7-5 to Anya Murthy. Utah then won the second set 6-1 to force a third. Roberts persevered but couldn't finish as Murthy came away with a 6-3 win in the third set to push Cal's overall match lead to 3-1.

At the No. 4 spot, Emma Valletta also forced a three set thriller with Xu. After dropping the first set 4-6, Valletta claimed the second set 6-4. Utah fell short in the third set 2-6 allowing Cal to walk away with the 4-1 overall victory.

Kaila Barksdale was locked in on set three before going unfinished with Cal's Mushika. Barksdale battled in a 7-6 (6) tiebreak win in the first set but dropped the second set 2-6. Barksdale was down 1-4 in the third set before remaining unfinished.

Kamper was on the grind in her three set match with Johanne Svendsen. Kamper dropped the first set 2-6 but bounced back with a big 6-2 win in the second set. In the third set, Kamper and Svendsen were tied 6-6 and 2-2 in the tiebreak before the match went unfinished.

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FINAL RESULTS
Utah 1, California 4

DOUBLES
1. Emma Kamper/Sara Akid (UU) def. Berta Passola Folch/Naomi Xu (CAL) 6-3
2. Hayley Roberts/Emma Valletta (UU) def. Mao Mushika/Sophie Hernandez (CAL) 7-6(5)
3. Johanne Svendsen/Mille Moerk (CAL) def. Emmi Moore/Kaila Barksdale (UU) 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2

SINGLES
1. #36 Johanne Svendsen (CAL) vs. #103 Emma Kamper (UU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-6 (2-2) UNF.
2. #22 Berta Passola Folch (CAL) def. Sara Akid (UU) 6-3, 7-5
3. Kaila Barksdale (UU) vs. #102 Mao Mushika (CAL) 7-6(6), 2-6, 1-4 UNF.
4. Mille Moerk (CAL) def. Emmi Moore (UU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Naomi Xu (CAL) def. Emma Valletta (UU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2*
6. Anya Murthy (CAL) def. Hayley Roberts (UU) 7-5, 1-6, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 6, 5