• Box Score

ERIE (April 7) – The No. 8 California University of Pennsylvania tennis team extended its win streak to six matches on Wednesday afternoon after posting a 9-0 win over Mercyhurst in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action.

With the victory, the Vulcans move to 17-5 overall and 3-0 in league play this season. Meanwhile, the regionally-ranked Lakers drop to 15-7 this year with a 1-2 mark in divisional action.

Cal U opened the match by sweeping the doubles matches to claim a 3-0 lead. At the first slot, freshman Jutta Bornefeld (Varel, Germany/Lother-Meyer Gymnasium) and junior Galina Vishnikina (Almaty, Kazakhstan/Sport Military) posted an 8-5 win over Lakers' Kim Ezzo and Meghan Raynor. In second doubles, 17th-ranked junior Nina Kowalski (Hofheim, Germany/Man Taunus) and sophomore Alina Stanila (Alexandria, Romania/Technical) dealt Rebecca Haener and Jenna Raynor an 8-4 defeat, while at the third position freshman Jade Pondicas (Johannesburg, South Africa/British International Distance) and sophomore Anastassiya Zherdeva (Almaty, Kazakhstan/Gumnasia Number 60) defeated Courtney Conway and Kelton Macke by an 8-0 margin.

The Vulcans swept singles play with six straight-set victories, including four 6-0, 6-0 wins. In a meeting of two regionally-ranked players, top-ranked Bornefeld posted a 6-1, 6-2 win over 20th-ranked Ezzo at first singles. Zherdeva, who was selected the PSAC West Athlete of the Week on Monday, claimed a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Meghan Raynor at second singles and Stanila dealt Haener a 6-0, 6-0 defeat at the third position.

Cal U's Kowalski defeated Mercyhurst's Macke by a 6-0, 6-0 count at the fourth slot, and Pondicas also finished off Jenna Raynor by a 6-0, 6-0 margin at the fifth position. Sophomore Axelle Fernandez (Toulouse, France/Institut Familial) shutout Natalie Iovino at sixth singles, 6-0, 6-0.

The Vulcans resume play on Saturday, April 10 when they host Clarion at 1 p.m.