• Box Score

VILLANOVA, Pa. (April 13) – The No. 8 Vulcans closed out the regular season on a nine-match winning streak following a 7-0 victory at Villanova on Friday afternoon.

With the victory, the California University of Pennsylvania tennis team finishes the regular season with a 19-5 overall record, highlighted by five wins over NCAA Division I programs.  Meanwhile, Villanova drops to 6-13 this season.

The Vulcans won all three doubles matches on Friday to earn the doubles point against the Wildcats. At the first position, seniors Martina Rubesova (Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic/Gymnazium Dr. Vaclava Smejkala) and Franziska Steinhardt (Bad Lausick, Germany/St. Augustin Gymnasium) dealt Mikelle Mancini and Sydney West an 8-1 defeat to extend their winning streak to five matches. Senior Annabel Pieschl (Gothenburg, Sweden/Katrinelund) and junior Jade Pondicas (Johannesburg, South Africa/British International Distance) earned an 8-6 victory at second doubles over Villanova's Allison Solberg and Alexandra Harding. At the third slot, senior Anastassiya Zherdeva (Almaty, Kazakhstan/Gumnasia Number 60) and freshman Ramona Czakon collected an 8-3 win over Kristin Gobberg and Wesleigh Donadio.

In singles play, Cal U won all six matches against Villanova in straight sets. Rubesova extended her singles win streak to 10 matches with a 6-3, 6-3 victory at first singles against Mancini. Pieschl posted her 24th victory of the season on Friday after earning a 6-2, 6-2 win over Solberg at the second slot, while Pondicas tallied a 6-4, 6-4 victory at the third position against West.

At fourth singles, Zherdeva reached the 20-win mark for the third-straight season by registering a 6-1, 6-0 win against the Wildcats' Kate Pettee. Steinhardt equaled her win total from last season with a 6-0, 6-0 victory against Amanda Nelson at the fifth position and Czakon added a 6-1, 6-1 win at the sixth slot over Harding.

The Vulcans have earned an opening-round bye in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships with the semifinals of the league championships set for Friday, April 20 in Bloomsburg, Pa. Cal U has won the PSAC title in each of the last five seasons and hasn't suffered a loss against a league opponent since the 2005-06 season.