BERKELEY, Calif. – Saint Mary's Women's Tennis opened their season at the Cal Fall Invite on Friday, which featured promising performances from the returners and the newcomers alike.  
 
The Gaels got off to a strong start on Day 1, with Jordan Harris and Lene Mari Hovda leading the charge on the gold doubles court, besting Alba Pedrero Galindo and Olaya Bances Iglesias of San Jose State 8-0. 
 
Harris and Hovda kept the ball rolling, beating the UC Davis duo of Carly Schwartzberg and 
Michelle Zell 8-1 to advance to gold semifinals. They're set to take on the Berkeley tandem of Cami Brown and Makenna Thiel Saturday morning at 9:00 am. 
 
Freshman Jamie Pope put up a solid performance in her Gaels debut, playing with Caroline Wernli of Gonzaga in the white bracket. The duo put on an exciting display to best the Santa Clara pairing of Kacey Feng and Anna Semler 8-4.
 
The twosome then faced Hana Gamracy and Azaria Hayes of University of San Francisco, where their run came to an end after a back-and-forth battle that ended 8-6 in favor of the Dons. Stefanie Silva and Gabriela Tevez were also in action in the white bracket, but were bested by Grace McSkimming and Alexis Johnson of Sacramento State 8-5. 
 
On the singles side, Lene Mari Hovda handled business in the blue bracket, beating Melissa LaMette of Cal Poly 6-1, 6-0. Hovda's doubles partner, Jordan Harris, faced off against Cal Poly's Kimberly Bhunu in the blue bracket as well. After a fierce three set battle, Harris was ousted 6-1, 1-6, 6-3. 
 
Sophomore Oliva Rook was one of three Gaels in action in the gold singles bracket Friday morning. Despite a stout effort, Rook was bested by Kristina Evloeva of UC Davis 6-3, 7-6. Gabriela Tevez faced off against Cal State Fresno's Carolina Piferi, but was unable to advance, losing 6-3, 6-4. Stephanie Silva was the lone Gael to advance to the next round in the gold bracket, prevailing over Michelle Zell of UC Davis 6-4, 6-4. Silva is set to play Irena Muradyan of San Jose State on Saturday at 2:30 pm in the round of 16. 
 
Both Gaels freshman were in action in the white singles bracket, as Jamie Pope lined up against Megan Carmichael of University of the Pacific. Despite a solid doubles performance earlier in the morning, Pope was unable to maintain her momentum as Carmichael won 6-0, 6-4. 
 
Madison Weekley was the second freshman in action for the Gaels, and despite a strong first set, she was unable to keep pace with Gonzaga's Caroline Wernli who won the match 7-5, 6-2. 
 
The Gaels are back in action on Saturday and Sunday at the Cal Fall Invite, and results from Friday's action, as well as the full bracket, can be found HERE.