• Box Score

PITTSBURGH (March 24) – Facing one of the perennial powers in NCAA Division III, the No. 13 California University of Pennsylvania tennis team blanked No. 11 Carnegie Mellon, 9-0, on Wednesday afternoon after winning all six singles matches in straight sets.

With the win, the Vulcans improved to 12-5 overall this season and 6-2 against nationally-ranked opponents. Meanwhile, the Tartans drop to 8-4 this year after posting a 21-3 mark last season.

Cal U opened the doubles session with a win at third doubles, as sophomore Anastassiya Zherdeva (Almaty, Kazakhstan) and freshman Jade Pondicas (Johannesburg, South Africa) dealt Cze-Ja Tam and Jennifer Chui an 8-3 defeat. At first doubles, freshman Jutta Bornefeld (Varel, Germany) and junior Galina Vishnikina (Almaty, Kazakhstan/Sport Military) earned an 8-4 victory over Ashley Herrick and Laura Chen, the top-ranked team in the Atlantic South Region. The Vulcans completed the sweep in doubles play, as sophomore Alina Stanila (Alexandria, Romania/Technical) and junior Nina Kowalski (Hofheim, Germany/Man Taunus) defeated Courtney Chin and Alexandra Tapak by an 8-6 count.

Cal U made short work of Carnegie Mellon in the singles session and won each match in straight sets. Sophomore Axelle Fernandez (Nice, France/Institut Familial) notched a 6-0, 6-0 win over Alisa Liebowitz at second singles, and Stanila added a 6-1, 6-0 over Chui at the fourth slot. Zherdeva added another victory for the Vulcans at first singles, where she dealt Chen a 6-3, 6-4 defeat.

Bornefeld followed with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Chin – the second-ranked player in the Atlantic South Region – at second singles, and Kowalski registered a 6-2, 6-2 win over Tapak at the fourth slot. Pondicas claimed the final point with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Tam at fifth singles.

The Vulcans open Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play on Tuesday, March 30, when they travel to face IUP at 3:30 p.m.