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Box Score
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ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. (May 13) – After losing two of three doubles matches, the No. 6 Vulcans suffered a 5-2 loss to No. 9 Hawai'i Pacific on Thursday morning in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Tournament
With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania finishes the season with a 24-6 overall record. The Vulcans have posted four-consecutive 20-win seasons and made quarterfinal appearances in three of the last four years. Meanwhile, the Sea Warriors improve to 21-4 and will face two-time, defending-National Champion and No. 1-ranked Armstrong Atlantic in the NCAA Semifinals tomorrow, Friday, May 14.
Playing with a shuffled doubles line-up, the Vulcans won only one of three matches after entering play having swept doubles play in 13-straight matches. Freshman
Jade Pondicas (Johannesburg, South Africa/British International Distance) and sophomore
Anastassiya Zherdeva (Almaty, Kazakhstan/Gumnasia Number 60) moved up to first doubles and suffered an 8-5 loss to the 14th-ranked tandem of Ingrid Cseh and Zora Vickova. At second doubles, sophomore
Axelle Fernandez (Toulouse, France/Institut Familial) and junior
Nina Kowalski (Hofheim, Germany/Man Taunus) were dealt an 8-2 defeat by Aleksandra Stankovic and Sandra Wikstrom. The doubles team of freshman
Jutta Bornefeld (Varel, Germany/Lother-Meyer Gymnasium) and sophomore
Mariana Oliveira (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Martha Falcao) collected the lone victory for Cal U, defeating Nina Mihova and Tinka Mihova by an 8-5 count at the third spot.
Hawai'i Pacific then won three singles matches to secure the match victory. In a meeting between two nationally-ranked players, sixth-ranked Vickova posted a 6-1, 6-0 win at first singles against 22nd-ranked Bornefeld. Cseh battled to a 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 victory over Kowalski at the third position, while Stankovic collected a 6-1, 6-1 win at sixth singles against Oliveira. Zherdeva earned the lone singles victory for Cal U, defeating Nina Mihova at the second slot, 6-1, 6-2.
The Vulcans were leading the final two singles matches before the Sea Warriors earned their fifth victory.
