Kristin Norton and the Crimson will face three California schools over sping break (Gil Talbot).

The Particulars
The No. 51 Harvard women's tennis team heads to California for spring break for a trio of matches this week. On Tuesday, the Crimson will visit Berkley, Calif. to take on the No. 7 California Golden Bears, followed by matches at San Francisco Thursday and No. 48 St. Mary's (Calif.) Friday.

About Harvard
The Crimson is 4-6 though the first six weeks of the spring season with wins over Boston University, Boston College, Cornell and No. 57 Purdue. The Crimson last played on Feb. 27, downing the Boilermakers, 5-2.

Holly Cao remains undefeated at 8-0 in singles this spring and is currently the 67th-ranked singles player in the nation. Kristin Norton (6-4) and Hideko Tachibana (5-4) also carry individual dual records above .500 into the spring break trip.

The doubles pairing of Norton and Tachibana also holds a 3-3 record this spring as the No. 1 doubles duo for the Crimson. Tachibana has also paired with Natalie Blosser, earning a 2-2 record from the No. 2 doubles spot.

About California
The No. 7 California women's tennis team hosts Harvard Tuesday, and holds a 10-4 record in 2011. The Golden Bears opened the season with five straight wins before falling to No. 13 Northwestern. California then ripped off five more wins before dropping its last three matches to No. 2 Stanford, No. 5 Duke and No. 31 Arizona State.

Jana Juricova, the fourth-ranked singles player in the nation, has played to a 13-0 record this spring from the No. 1 spot. No. 41 Mari Andersson is 13-1 for the Golden Bears from the No. 2 spot. The two have combined for a 13-1 record in doubles this season and are currently ranked as the fourth-best doubles pair.

About San Francisco
The Dons will host Harvard at the Golden Gate Park Thursday with a 1-11 record this season. Following a season-opening win against Cal St. Bakersfield, San Francisco has lost 11 straight.

Northern Colorado will visit the Dons Monday evening prior to Thurday's showdown with the Crimson.

About St. Mary's (Calif.)
The Gaels will be Harvard's final host of the west coast trip, squaring off against the Crimson Friday afternoon. St. Mary's is 6-6 overall and riding a four-match win streak into the match against Harvard. The Gaels took down Loyola Marymout and San Diego on their home courts at the Timothy Korth Tennis Complex March 11 and 13, respectively.

Catherine Isip is 9-3 in the No. 2 singles spot this season for St. Mary's, having won her last five matches. Jenny Jullien and Alex Poorta have each reeled off four straight wins, Jullien playing matches at No. 3, 4 and 5 singles, while Poorta has played all 12 of her matches in the No. 1 spot this spring.

Looking Ahead
Harvard returns to the east coast for three more road matches. The Crimson will travel to Richmond, Va. March 27 to face Virginia Commonwealth before opening conference play against Cornell (Apr. 1) and Columbia (Apr. 2).