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Box Score
INDIANA, Pa. (March 31) – Playing for the first time in a week, the No. 8 Vulcans opened Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action with an impressive 9-0 victory at regionally-ranked IUP on Wednesday afternoon.
The California University of Pennsylvania tennis team, which moved up five places in the latest ITA national rankings yesterday, improves to 13-5 overall this season. Meanwhile, IUP falls to 12-5 this year.
The Vulcans opened doubles play with an impressive sweep, losing only a combined four games in the three matches. At the first slot, 17th-ranked junior
Nina Kowalski (Hofheim, Germany/Man Taunus) and sophomore
Alina Stanila (Alexandria, Romania/Technical) claimed an 8-2 victory over Emilia Osborne and Chloe Pike. Freshman
Jutta Bornefeld (Varel, Germany/Lother-Meyer Gymnasium) and junior
Galina Vishnikina (Almaty, Kazakhstan/Sport Military) dealt Alex Ballard and Katie Eaton an 8-2 defeat at the second position, while freshman
Jade Pondicas (Johannesburg, South Africa/British International Distance) and sophomore
Anastassiya Zherdeva (Almaty, Kazakhstan/Gumnasia Number 60) posted an 8-0 shutout at third doubles against Alyssa and Emily Shubra.
Cal U completed the shutout after winning all six matches in singles action, including five in straight sets. Bornefeld, who is the 20th-ranked singles player in the country, rallied after losing the first set to claim a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Pike at first singles. Zherdeva shutout Eaton at the second slot, winning 6-0, 6-0 and Stanila claimed a 6-2, 6-2 victory at third singles over Osborne.
In addition to the shutout victory at the second position, the Vulcans earned 6-0, 6-0 wins at the fourth, fifth and singles slots. Kowalski swept Shubra at fourth singles and Pondicas registered a shutout against Kelly McBryn at the fifth position. Sophomore
Axelle Fernandez (Toulouse, France/Institut Familial) posted a 6-0, 6-0 win at the sixth slot over Ballard.
Cal U returns to action tomorrow, Thursday, April 1, with a pair of road matches against regionally-ranked teams in Charleston (W.Va.) and West Virginia State.
