BERKELEY, Calif. — The Sacramento State duo of freshman Palina Saulevich and sophomore Reese Walker went unbeaten en route to the Flight B doubles crown while senior Maddy Ferreros upended a pair of California players — including the tournament's No. 3 seed — en route to a berth in the championship match in singles, highlighting the Hornets' efforts at the 2024 California Fall Invite over the weekend in Berkeley, Calif.
Playing as a tandem for the first time this fall, Saulevich and Walker earned a first-round bye before making their run to the title, taking down San Jose State's Najime Dho and Soledad Fayos Capilla, 8-5, and squeaking past the Saint Mary's tandem of Juliette Daries and Stefanie Silva, 8-7 (11-9), in a tiebreaker.
That set up a championship head-to-head with Pacific's Leyanne Hirota and Maggie Hoe, which proved little challenge to the Sacramento State duo as Saulevich and Walker cruised by an 8-2 score.
On the singles side, Ferreros also opened with a bye before a straight set victory over Santa Clara's TianYu Dong, 7-6 (3), 6-1, then proceeded to outlast a pair of Golden Bears in three sets in quarterfinal and semifinal triumphs. She opened Saturday with a win over Cal's Makenna Thiel, 6-2, 0-6, 6-2, then rallied to upset third-seeded Naomi Xu, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, to punch her ticket to the championship.
There, Ferreros opened strong with a 6-2 win in the first set against California's Sophie Hernandez, but could not close out the Golden Bear freshman, falling 7-5 and 6-2 in the final two sets.
In doubles, the team of sophomore Lou Baudouin and freshman Emilija Pranyte won two of their three contests on the weekend, while the teams of Ferreros and Pranyte along with Weronika Ejsmont and Ferreros also took home wins.
In singles, Walker and Baudouin also posted 3-1 records on the weekend with wins over opponents from Nevada, Pacific, San Jose State, and Saint Mary's, while Pranyte, Ejsmont, and Saulevich added a pair of victories.
The Hornets now break until making a return trip to Berkeley for the 2024 ITA Northwest Regionals on Oct. 11-15.
CAL FALL INVITATIONAL
Sept. 27-29, 2024
Berkeley, Calif. (Hellman Tennis Complex)
DOUBLES
Main Draw - Flight A
R16 - Lou Baudouin / Emilija Pranyte (SAC) def. Kacey Feng / Anna Rahman (SCU), 8-2
QF - (1) Tiziana Marie Schomburg / Naomi Xu (CAL) def. Lou Baudouin / Emilija Pranyte (SAC), 8-5
Main Draw - Flight B
R16 - Palina Saulevich / Reese Walker (SAC), BYE
QF - Palina Saulevich / Reese Walker (SAC) def. Najime Dho / Soledad Fayos Capilla (SJSU), 8-5
SF - Palina Saulevich / Reese Walker (SAC) def. Juliette Daries / Stefanie Silva (SMC), 8-7 (9)
F - Palina Saulevich / Reese Walker (SAC) vs. Leyanne Hirota / Maggie Hoe (PAC), 8-2
R16 - Weronika Ejsmont / Maddy Ferreros (SAC), BYE
QF - Weronika Ejsmont / Maddy Ferreros (SAC) def. Emma Fantusis / Cristina Mateos Losada (SJSU), 8-5
SF - Leyanne Hirota / Maggie Hoe (PAC) def. Weronika Ejsmont / Maddy Ferreros (SAC), 8-6
Other Doubles Matches
Lou Baudouin / Emilija Pranyte (SAC) def. Olaya Bances Iglesias / Nahjime Dho (SJSU), 8-6
Maddy Ferreros / Emilija Pranyte (SAC) def. Juliette Daries / Madison Weekley (SMC), 8-3
TianYu Dong / Jillian Roa (SJSU) def. Lou Baudouin / Weronika Ejsmont (SAC), 8-4
SINGLES
Main Draw - Blue Flight
R32 - Emilija Pranyte (SAC) def. Anna Rahman (SCU), 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3
R16 - (1) Tiziana Marie Schomburg (CAL) def. Emilija Pranyte (SAC), 6-2, 7-5
R32 - (4) Reese Walker (SAC), BYE
R16 - Sophie Hernandez (CAL) def. (4) Reese Walker (SAC), 6-4, 6-2
R32 - Lou Baudouin (SAC) def. Nahjime Dho (SJSU), 2-6, 6-0, 6-4
R16 - (3) Naomi Xu (CAL) def. Lou Baudouin (SAC), 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-2
R32 - Maddy Ferreros (SAC), BYE
R16 - Maddy Ferreros (SAC) def. TianYu Dong (SCU), 7-6 (3), 6-1
QF - Maddy Ferreros (SAC) def. Makenna Thiel (CAL), 6-2, 0-6, 6-2
SF - Maddy Ferreros (SAC) def. (3) Naomi Xu (CAL), 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
F - Sophie Hernandez (CAL) def. Maddy Ferreros (SAC), 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
Consolation - Blue Flight
CR16 - (4) Reese Walker (SAC) def. Olivia Wiese (SCU), 6-0, 6-1
Main Draw - Gold Flight
R32 - Weronika Ejsmont (SAC) def. Anna Semler (SCU), 6-2, 6-2
R16 - Weronika Ejsmont (SAC) def. Morgan Shaffer (STAN), 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-3
QF - Emma Fantusis (SJSU) def. Weronika Ejsmont (SAC), 6-3, 6-3
R32 - Palina Saulevich (SAC), BYE
R16 - Petra Janigova (NEV) def. Palina Saulevich (SAC), 6-1, 5-7, 6-0
Other Singles Matches
Palina Saulevich (SAC) def. Kacey Feng (SCU), 6-2, 7-6 (4)
TianYu Dong (SCU) def. Emilija Pranyte (SAC), 7-5, 6-2
Lou Baudouin (SAC) def. Lou Anne Guerbert (NEV), 6-4, 7-6 (0)
Reese Walker (SAC) def. Cristina Mateos Losada (SJSU), 8-0
Palina Saulevich (SAC) def. Cristina Mateos Losada (SJSU), 6-3, 6-2
Lou Baudouin (SAC) vs. Elizaveta Mladentseva (PAC), 7-6 (3), 6-4
Reese Walker (SAC) vs. Iman Khan (SMC), 7-6 (6), 6-1
Emilija Pranyte (SAC) vs. Olivia Wiese (SCU), 8-1
