May 26, 2009

BERKELEY - The doubles team of sophomore Mari Andersson and freshman Jana Juricova won four straight matches Thursday through Sunday at the 2009 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Doubles Championship in College Station, Texas, advancing to the championship match Monday, where they capped off their run with a win over Stanford's Hilary Barte and Lindsay Burdette to earn the title of national champions and make the duo the Muscle Milk California Student-Athletes of the Week.

In the Round of 32 at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center on Thursday, the No. 7-ranked Andersson and Juricova beat No. 12 Whitney Chappell and Alex Haney of Auburn 7-6(5), 6-3; the next day in the Round of 16, they edged. No. 19 Michaela Kissell and Laura Vallverdu of Miami 7-5, 6-4; their quarterfinal win on Saturday came against top-ranked Renata Kucerkova and Anastasia Petukhova of Florida State 7-6(1), 6-3; and Sunday' semifinal saw the pair beat No. 13 Csilla Borsanyi and Lenka Broosova of Baylor 6-4, 6-3.

On Memorial Day, Andersson and Juricova won the national doubles championship over Stanford's Barte and Burdette, the No. 8 team, 6-3, 6-4.

The Golden Bear tandem becomes the fifth Cal doubles team to win the crown and the first since 2003 NCAA champions Raquel Kops-Jones and Christina Fusano. Cal's other titles came when head coach Amanda Augustus teamed up with Amy Jensen to win back-to-back championships in 1998 and 1999; and when Jensen teamed with Claire Curran for her third title in 2000.

Andersson and Juricova complete their first seasons with the Bears with a 25-3 doubles record together and claimed the NCAA title by winning their seventh consecutive match. The duo posted a perfect 8-0 record in tournament matches. Individually, Andersson finishes with a 25-5 doubles record while Juricova takes home a team-high 39-7 doubles mark. Barte and Burdette complete the year with a 27-8 overall record this year.

Muscle Milk California Student-Athletes of the Week

2007-08 Winners

2006-07 Winners