• Box Score vs. Kutztown
• Box Score vs. IUP

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. (April 20) – The No. 8 California University of Pennsylvania tennis team defeated Kutztown in the semifinals and No. 41 IUP in the finals on Friday en route to capturing its sixth-straight Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship.

With the victories, the Vulcans improve to 21-5 this season. Behind its current 11-match win streak, Cal U has now at least 20 matches in each of the last five years. The Vulcans entered the weekend as the top seed in the Atlantic Region and will likely make their eighth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tournament Selection Show is scheduled to stream on NCAA.com at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 24.

In a rematch of last year's PSAC Championship, Cal U posted a 6-1 victory against nationally-ranked IUP (20-7). Seniors Martina Rubesova (Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic/Gymnazium Dr. Vaclava Smejkala) and Franziska Steinhardt (Bad Lausick, Germany/St. Augustin Gymnasium) cruised to an 8-0 victory at first doubles over the Crimson Hawks' Katie Eaton and Tabtip Louhabanjong. Senior Anastassiya Zherdeva (Almaty, Kazakhstan/Gumnasia Number 60) and freshman Ramona Czakon (Trier, Germany/Tampereen Lyseon Lukio) then tallied an 8-4 win at the third slot against IUP's Erika Schnaas and Ranvita Mahto. At the second position, senior Annabel Pieschl (Gothenburg, Sweden/Katrinelund) and junior Jade Pondicas (Johannesburg, South Africa/British International Distance) were outlasted by a 9-7 count by Emilia Osborne and Tanya Timko, the third-ranked doubles team in the region.

Steinhardt opened singles play versus the Crimson Hawks with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Osborne at the fifth position, while Czakon earned a 6-1, 6-3 win against Schnaas at sixth singles. The Vulcans captured the conference title by winning matches at the first and third slots at the same time. Rubesova registered a 6-1, 6-2 victory at the first position over Louhabanjong and Pondicas posted a 6-1, 6-4 win against Eaton at third singles.

In the semifinals against the Golden Bears (9-10), the Vulcans seized an early 3-0 lead after winning all three matches in doubles play without losing a game. Zherdeva and Czakon opened play at second doubles with an 8-0 win against Kutztown's Rachel Grula and Stefanie Fisher. At the first position, Rubesova and Steinhardt posted an 8-0 victory over Hannah Pipkin and Ridhima Borooah. In their first match as a doubles tandem this year, freshmen Jolien Borrenberghs (Hasselt, Belgium/KA2 Sportschool) and Jesse Burrell (Perth, Australia/Presbyterian Ladies' College) dealt Tori Zander and Jennifer Stow an 8-0 defeat.

In singles action, Czakon posted a 6-1, 6-0 win at the fourth position against the Golden Bears' Chelsea White. The Vulcans clinched the match when Steinhardt tallied a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Grula at the third position.

Following the championship match, Rubesova was named PSAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player. She teamed with Steinhardt for a pair of 8-0 wins at first doubles on Friday and collected a straight-set victory at first singles against IUP.

Zherdeva joined former teammate Laurie Navarro as the only players in program history to be a member of four-consecutive PSAC Championship teams.

Due to impending inclement weather for the weekend, the championship match was moved to Friday night while the consolation match was rescheduled for Saturday morning. The individual championships, which were postponed from the fall, were cancelled due to weather.