• Box Score

SOUTH PARK, Pa. (Feb. 12) – The No. 8 California University of Pennsylvania tennis team earned an 8-1 victory over Carnegie Mellon, the eighth-ranked team in NCAA Division III, on Saturday evening at the Glen Creek Tennis Club.

With the victory, the Vulcans improve their overall mark to 8-1 and 4-1 during the spring portion of the season. Carnegie Mellon drops to 3-1 overall after previously defeating Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West members Mercyhurst and Slippery Rock.

The Vulcans earned a sweep in doubles action to begin the match, 3-0. At first doubles, junior Annabel Pieschl(Gothenburg, Sweden/Katrinelund) and sophomore Jade Pondicas (Johannesburg, South Africa/British International Distance) earned an 8-3 victory over Carnegie Mellon's Laura Chen and Courtney Chin, the No. 1 doubles pairing in the Atlantic South Region. Juniors Axelle Fernandez (Toulouse, France/Institut Familial) and Anastassiya Zherdeva (Almaty, Kazakhstan/Gumnasia Number 60) earned an 8-0 victory over Jennifer Chui and Cze-Ja Tam at second doubles. Junior Franziska Steinhardt (Bad Lausick, Germany/St. Augustin Gymnasium) and senior Laurie Navarro (Eysus, France/Jules Supervielle) were victorious at third doubles over Alexandra Tapak and Madison Rabson, 8-1.

Pieschl, the No. 20 singles player in the country, suffered the loss at first singles to Chen, the No. 1-ranked player in the South Atlantic Region, 2-6, 6-4, 10-6. Steinhardt collected the win at second singles over Chin, 6-3, 6-1. At third singles, Zherdeva was victorious over Tapak, 6-3, 6-1.

At the fourth position, No. 42 Pondicas defeated Tam, 6-1, 6-1, while Fernandez captured a 6-0, 6-2 victory against Chui at fifth singles. Navarro rounded out the lineup at sixth singles by defeating Rabson, 6-0, 6-0.

The Vulcans are back in action next Saturday, Feb. 19, when they host NCAA Division I George Washington at 6.pm.