• Box Score
• Opening-Round Information

CALIFORNIA (May 7) – In its first action in nearly two weeks, the No. 6 California University of Pennsylvania tennis team claimed a 6-0 victory against Mercyhurst in the NCAA Division II Tournament on Friday afternoon at the new tennis complex in Roadman Park.

With the victory, the Vulcans improve to 22-5 overall this season and extend their win streak to 11 matches. Cal U will face Charleston (W.Va.) in the third round of the regional tournament tomorrow, Saturday, May 8, with the winner advancing to the Round of 16 in Altamonte Springs, Fla. Earlier in the day at Roadman Park, the Golden Eagles blanked conference-rival West Virginia State, 5-0. Meanwhile, Mercyhurst concludes its season with a 20-9 mark.

The Vulcans swept doubles play for the 11th-straight match, losing only a total of four games in three matches. At first doubles, freshman Jutta Bornefeld (Varel, Germany/Lother-Meyer Gymnasium) and junior Laurie Navarro (Eysus, France/Jules Supervielle) posted an 8-2 victory over the Lakers' Kim Ezzo and Meghan Raynor, who are the seventh-ranked doubles team in the region. Sophomore Anastassiya Zherdeva (Almaty, Kazakhstan/Gumnasia Number 60) and freshman Jade Pondicas (Johannesburg, South Africa/British International Distance) moved into a tie for the team lead with 12 wins as a doubles team following an 8-2 victory against Rebecca Haener and Kelton Macke. At the third slot, junior Nina Kowalski (Hofheim, Germany/Man Taunus) and sophomore Axelle Fernandez (Toulouse, France/Institut Familial) collected an 8-0 win on Friday versus Jenna Raynor and Natalie Iovino.

In singles play, Fernandez increased the lead to 4-0 after blanking Jenna Raynor at the fifth position, 6-0, 6-0. Zherdeva and Pondicas then finished their singles match at the same time to clinch the victory for the Vulcans. Zherdeva now ranks second on the team with 21 victories following a 6-2, 6-1 win against Meghan Raynor at second singles. Pondicas extended her win streak to 17 matches after defeating Mackie, 6-2, 6-0, at the fourth position.

The Vulcans, who have won four of their last five matches in NCAA Tournament play, have advanced to the quarterfinals of the national tournament twice in the last three seasons. Earlier this season, Cal U claimed a 9-0 victory on the road against Charleston.