•
Box Score
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. (May 15) – The No. 12 California University of Pennsylvania suffered a 5-0 loss to No. 3 Armstrong Atlantic State University (Ga.) on Friday in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Tournament.
The Vulcans posted their third-straight 20-win season this year, finishing at 23-3 overall. Cal U has earned berths to the NCAA Tournament in six of the last seven seasons with the first two NCAA Quarterfinal appearances (2007, 2009) in program history. Meanwhile, the Pirates improve to 26-1 and advance to today's semifinals when they will face No. 4 Valdosta State University (Ga.).
The match between Cal U and Armstrong Atlantic started yesterday, Thursday, May 14, but was suspended after doubles play due to rain and lightning.
In yesterday's double play, the Vulcans lost all three matches for only the second time this season. At first doubles, the 16th-ranked doubles team of graduate student
Helena VanEysendeyk (Meythet, France Zurich International) and freshman
Alina Stanila (Alexandria, Romania/Technical) suffered an 8-4 loss to second-ranked Martina Beckmann and Alida Muller-Wehlau. Sophomore
Nina Kowalski (Hofheim, Germany/Man Taunus) and freshman
Axelle Fernandez (Nice, France/Institut Familial) dropped an 8-1 decision to seventh-ranked Gabriella Kovacs and Sona Novakova at the second position. In the match at third doubles, sophomore
Galina Vishnikina (Almaty, Kazakhstan/Sport Military) and freshman
Anastassiya Zherdeva (Almaty, Kazakhstan) lost to 12th-ranked Kathleen Henry and Tina Ronel, 8-4.
Play between the Pirates and Vulcans resumed today at 8 a.m. with singles play. Stanila, the 39th-ranked player in the nation, lost to 16th-ranked Muller-Wehlau by a 6-1, 6-2 count at the second position. Kowalski suffered a 6-1, 6-0 loss to Kovacs, the 19th-ranked player, at fourth singles.
The match featured the top two nationally-ranked singles player in the country with Novakova and VanEysendeyk, respectively. Novakova won the first set, 6-4, before the match was stopped early in the second set after Armstrong Atlantic clinched the victory.
