• Box Score

CALIFORNIA (April 14) – The No. 8 Vulcans claimed their sixth-straight Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West title on Wednesday afternoon after posting an 8-1 win against No. 44 Slippery Rock at the new tennis complex at Roadman Park.

With the victory, the Vulcans improve to 19-5 overall and earn the divisional crown with a 5-0 divisional record. Meanwhile, The Rock drops to 16-4 this season with a 4-1 mark in league play. Both teams are among the elite in the Atlantic Region, as Cal U and Slippery Rock are ranked first and third, respectively.

Cal U swept doubles play for the eighth-straight match, taking a 3-0 lead over Slippery Rock on Wednesday. Freshman Jutta Bornefeld (Varel, Germany/Lother-Meyer Gymnasium) and junior Nina Kowalski (Hofheim, Germany/Man Taunus) opened with an 8-4 win at the first slot over the Rock's Dunja Drmac and Laura Handy, the third-ranked doubles team in the region. At second doubles, sophomore Alina Stanila (Alexandria, Romania/Technical) and junior Galina Vishnikina (Almaty, Kazakhstan/Sport Military) dealt Chelsea Gibson and Jessica Hilborn an 8-1 defeat. Cal U closed the doubles sweep when freshman Jade Pondicas (Johannesburg, South Africa/British International Distance) and sophomore Anastassiya Zherdeva (Almaty, Kazakhstan/Gumnasia Number 60) posted an 8-4 victory against Janelle Krantz and Sarah Lynch.

The Vulcans won five of the six matches in singles play against the Rock, winning each of their matches in straight sets. In a match of two of the top singles players in the region, Bornefeld collected a 6-0, 6-1 win over Handy at first singles. Stanila posted a 6-0, 6-1 victory at the third slot against Drmac, while Kowalski dealt Gibson a 6-1, 6-1 defeat at the fourth position.

At fifth singles, Pondicas extended her win streak to 15 matches with a 6-0, 6-0 shutout win against Hilbon and sophomore Axelle Fernandez (Toulouse, France/Institut Familial) posted a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Casey Runyan at the sixth position.

In the final action of the evening, Zherdeva lost a super-tiebreaker match at the second slot to Lynch, 6-3, 6-7, 10-7.

Cal U is idle for nearly a week before opening play in the PSAC Tournament, which will be played at Bloomsburg, Pa. The Vulcans are the three-time defending PSAC Tournament Champions.