• Box Score

INDIANA, Pa. (April 21) – The No. 16 Vulcans captured their seventh-consecutive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship by posting a 5-0 win over No. 44 IUP in the finals of the league tournament on Sunday morning.

With the victory, the California University of Pennsylvania tennis team improves to 14-9 this season. The Vulcans entered the weekend as the top seed in the Atlantic Region and will likely make their ninth-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tournament Selection Show is scheduled to stream on NCAA.com at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23.

The Vulcans took a quick 3-0 lead by sweeping doubles play for the fifth-straight match. The No. 13 tandem of junior Lucie Sipkova (Pardubice, Czech Republic/Gymnazium Pardubice Mozartova) and sophomore Lucie Rey (Geneva, Switzerland/Colombieres) opened the session with an 8-0 victory against the regionally-ranked duo of Erika Schnaas and Katie Eaton. Sophomore Ramona Czakon (Trier, Germany/Tampereen Lyseon Lukio) and freshman Alexandra Borgenhoff (Alingsas, Sweden/Katrinelund), who are No. 21 in the country, then posted an 8-5 win at second doubles over Emilia Osborne and Tanya Timko. Senior Jade Pondicas (Johannesburg, South Africa/British International Distance) and freshman Maxime Colen (Breda, Netherlands/Newman) closed doubles play with an 8-4 victory against Abby McCormick and Alanna McFail at the third slot.

Cal U clinched the match victory and the league title with a pair of victories in singles play, while also holding the lead in three of the four remaining unfinished singles matches. Rey cruised to her fifth-straight victory at the fourth position, blanking Osborne by a 6-0, 6-0 count. Sipkova, the No. 36 player in the country, sealed the match win by posting a 6-0, 6-0 win against regionally-ranked Eaton at first singles.

Following the championship match, Sipkova was named the PSAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player. She teamed with Rey for a pair of wins at first doubles over the weekend and collected the tournament-sealing victory at first singles against IUP. Pondicas, the team's lone senior, became only the third player in program history to be a member of four-consecutive PSAC Championship teams.

Cal U ranks second in conference history with nine overall league titles (1991, 1993, 2007-13), as Bloomsburg holds the record at 10 championships with the last coming in 2006.

With the loss, the Crimson Hawks fall to 17-7 this season and will likely earn a berth to the NCAA Tournament after entering the weekend ranked second in the region.