Cal's Berta Passola Folch Reaches NCAA Tennis Final, but Loses Title Match

Berta Passola Folch became the first Cal athlete to reach the finals of the women’s NCAA singles championship since Lynn Chi advanced to the title match in 2014.

However, Passola Folch fell short of becoming the first Golden Bears woman to claim an NCAA singles title since 2011 when she lost to Reese Brantmeier of North Carolina, 6-3, 6-3, in Sunday’s singles finals in Orlando, Florida.

Passola Folch, a senior, was a surprise finalist, entering the singles tournament ranked 113th in the college rankings. She arned a spot in the NCAA singles championship by winning her quarterfinal match at the ITA Masters Championships in San Diego earlier this month.

She then rolled through five matches to reach the singles final in Orlando.

Passola Folch defeated Mayu Crossley (UCLA) 6-1, 6-1 in the round of 64. She then knocked off Mia Kupres (Texas A&M) 6-3, 6-2 in the round of 32. In the round of 16, Passola Folch eliminated Gabriella Broadfoot (North Carolina State) 6-4, 6-3.

Passola Folch advanced to the semifinals by beating Kyoka Kubu (Kansas) 7-5, 6-2 in the quarterfinals, then outlasted Emily Welker (Mississippi) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7) in the semifinals on Saturday to reach the finals.

Passola Folch was hoping to become the fourth Cal woman to win a national singles tennis title, joining Josephine Cruickshank, who won the title in 1930 when the tournament was sponsored by the AIAW, and Suzi Babos in 2006 and Jana Juricova in 2011, who both won national singles titles when it was sponsored by the NCAA.

However, Passola Folch fell short against the favored Brantmeier, who was among the eight players seeded ninth to 16th in the 64-player field.

In the past the NCAA tennis championships were held in the spring, but starting in 2024 the national championships in tennis have been competed in the fall. This is the second year the NCAA tennis championships were held in the fall.

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