BERKELEY, Calif. – Competing against some of the top Division I programs in the region, Academy of Art began their 2019-2020 season at the Cal Fall Invitational this past weekend. One of only two Division II schools present, the Urban Knights notched four singles victories and three doubles wins, including a championship in the consolation doubles bracket. 

"There's a lot of positives to take from this weekend," said head coach Clarisse Baca. "This tournament is one of the toughest in the region in Division 1 during the fall. Being able to compete against some of the best players in the nation is very exciting."

Senior Mariacristina Andrisani led ART U with five total wins, two in singles and three in doubles. After starting her tournament with a tough 7-6, 2-6, 1-0 (8) loss to Nevada's Selina Turulja, Andrisani won two consecutive singles matches. She breezed by her first opponent, Grace Dodd of Sacramento State, with a 6-1, 6-2 victory, sending her to the quarterfinals where she took down Brigham Young's Morgan Hall by way of a 6-2, 6-3 score. Andrisani dropped her semifinal match to end her singles run. 

Sophomore Sofia Ragona notched her first victory of the season by defeating Santa Clara's Lindsay Lynch 6-2, 6-1 in the round of 32. Ragona fell to Anastaysha Gorbacheva of Nevada 6-0, 6-2 in the next round. 

In doubles, Ragona and Andrisani dropped their first match 8-6 to San Francisco's Alicia Yue and Emily Maxfield. However, the Italian duo came back strong, taking three straight matches to win the consolation championship. The winning streak started with an 8-6 victory over Pacific's Georgia Townsend and Hannah Ketcherside. In the semis, the pair defeated Santa Clara's Lindsey Pesqueira and Nadine Del Carmen 8-3 before taking down BYU's Emma Jewell and USF's Amber Del Rosario for the consolation championship. 

"Sofia and Maria have a big goal this year, which is to win the ITA West Region doubles title so they can go to the ITA Cup," said Baca. "This weekend they showed some improvement from last year. They were able to close points better, they stayed more consistent with serves, and metnally they are more prepared and ready for any situation they have to face during the matches."

A pair of freshman made their debut for ART U, Aitana Comas Adam and Julia Ortega. Comas won her first match as an Urban Knight by outlasting Gonzaga's Katie Day 7-6 (4), 3-6, 1-0 (2). Ortega lost her three matches, but recorded her first set win in the second set of her match against Georgia Townsend of Pacific with a 6-4 victory. 

"It was exciting to see the freshman compete for the first time," said Baca. "Good tournament overall. It was definitely an eye opener for the freshman to keep improving and keep working hard and keep looking forward to the next tournament." 

That next tournament is the ITA West Regionals, hosted by Azusa Pacific and running Oct. 3-4 at the Munson & Bavougian Tennis Complex.