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Results
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Sept. 26) – Seniors
Martina Rubesova (Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic) and
Franziska Steinhardt (Bad Lausick, Germany/St. Augustin Gymnasium) each qualified for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Championships after winning flights at the ITA Atlantic Regional Championships.
Rubesova qualified for the national tournament in both singles and doubles play with Steinhardt qualifying as her doubles partner. The ITA National Championships will be played in Mobile, Ala., on Oct. 13-16. This marks the sixth-consecutive year in which the Vulcans won both the singles and doubles regional titles.
In singles action, Rubesova captured the title with a perfect 6-0 record after defeating Slippery Rock senior Sarah Lynch in the championship match on Monday. The senior transfer from Northwestern State (La.) entered the tournament as the top seed and claimed a 6-0, 6-1 first-round victory against Kristen Justice of Davis & Elkins before posting a 6-1, 6-2 win over IUP's Abby McCormick. After a straight-set win in the third round, Rubesova registered a 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 victory against teammate
Anastassiya Zherdeva (Almaty, Kazakhstan/Gumnasia Number 60) in the quarterfinals. The senior from the Czech Republic then collected a 7-5, 6-1 win over teammate
Jade Pondicas (Johannesburg, South Africa/British International Distance) in the semifinals.
Pondicas, Steinhardt, senior
Annabel Pieschl (Gothenburg, Sweden/Katrinelund) and freshman
Ramona Czakon each finished the singles flight of the tournament with a 3-1 record.
Cal U featured the top four seeds – Rubesova, Pieschl, Pondicas and Steinhardt – in a singles field that featured 64 players.
In doubles play, Rubesova and Steinhardt claimed the title with a 5-0 mark after defeating teammates Pieschl and Pondicas in the finals. Rubesova and Steinhardt entered the tournament as the top seed and won the title after not losing more than four games in any match.
Pieschl and Pondicas, the second seed in the tournament, posted three wins and advanced to the finals with an 8-4 victory against teammates Czakon and Zherdeva.
The Vulcans continue their fall season next weekend on Oct. 8-9 when they play dual matches in Bloomsburg, Pa., against Shippensburg, East Stroudsburg and the host Huskies.
