CALIFORNIA (April 16) – The No. 12 California University of Pennsylvania tennis team will travel to face West Chester in the semifinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament on Thursday, April 17, at 3 p.m. The Golden Rams are serving as hosts for both the men's and women's tennis championships this spring.
 
PSAC Playoffs: Cal U is the No. 1 seed in the playoffs from the PSAC West and will face tournament-host West Chester, who is the No. 2 seed from the East.  Cal U earned a bye to the semifinals, while West Chester posted a 5-1 win over Kutztown to advance in the tournament. Meanwhile, Bloomsburg, the No. 1 seed from the PSAC East, will face PSAC West No. 2 seed IUP in the other semifinals matchup. Bloomsburg earned a bye into the semifinals, while IUP dispatched Mercyhurst by a 5-1 count to advance to the next round.
 
National Rankings: Cal U is ranked No. 12 in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings. Two Vulcans are listed in the singles rankings, including senior Lucie Sipkova (Pardubice, Czech Republic/Gymnazium Pardubice Mozartova who is ranked No. 5, and junior Ramona Czakon (Trier, Germany/Tampereen Lyseon Lukio) who is slotted at No. 38. In addition, the doubles pairing of Sipkova and junior Lucie Rey (Geneva, Switzerland/Colombieres) are ranked No. 11 in the latest doubles rankings.
 
Regional Rankings: The Vulcans hold the top ranking in the Atlantic Region and four of the top-20 singles players. Sipkova is the region's top player, Czakon ranks third, freshman Kiefer Shaw (Westmount, Quebec/Centennial) is slotted at No. 7, while Rey is ranked No. 14. In addition, the pairing of Rey and Sipkova is the top doubles team in the Atlantic Region.
 
Scouting the Vulcans: Cal U enters the post-season on a nine-match winning streak with its only loss this spring coming at West Virginia on Feb. 7. The reigning PSAC West Athlete of the Year, Sipkova leads the team with 24 victories behind a 9-3 mark at the first position in dual play. The trio of Czakon, freshman Veronika Mikulis (Otterburn Park, Quebec/Heritage Regional) and Shaw each rank second on the team with 17 wins in singles play behind nine-match winning streaks. Freshman Mariela Sarinana (Mexico City, Mexico/Miraflores) is close behind with 16 victories after winning a team-best 11-straight matches in singles play. In doubles, Sipkova and Rey have tallied 20 victories after earning ITA All-America status last year. The tandem of Czakon and Sarinana has won nine-straight matches while playing primarily at the second position.
 
Vulcans in the Playoffs: Cal U has won seven-consecutive PSAC Championships and hasn't lost a match against a league opponent since the 2005-06 season. With another title this weekend, the Vulcans would tie Bloomsburg for the most championships (10) in league history in women's tennis.
 
Scouting the Golden Rams: West Chester extended its winning streak to five matches with a win on Monday against Kutztown.  Sophomore Cassidy Branigan received PSAC East Athlete of the Week honors earlier this week after posting a combined 6-0 mark in last week's action. Branigan earned an 8-3 win at third doubles and a 6-1, 6-1 victory at third singles in the quarterfinals of the PSAC Tournament. The Golden Rams won a pair of doubles matches on Monday and earned victories in all three completed singles matches against the Golden Bears.
 
Golden Rams in the Playoffs: West Chester is making a consecutive appearance in the PSAC Tournament, and third appearance in four years. The last time the Golden Rams advanced to the conference semifinals was in 2011 when the Vulcans defeated them by a 5-0 margin.
 
Series: Cal U has won each of the last seven meetings with West Chester. The last time Golden Rams defeated the Vulcans was a 7-2 win in the 1998-99 season.
 
Last Meeting: (Box Score) Cal U and West Chester last met this fall with the Vulcans earning a 9-0 road victory on Oct. 5. In the win, Cal U won five of the six singles matches by a 6-0, 6-0 score and lost no more than two games in any doubles match.
 
Head Coaches: Pablo Montana is in his 12th season as head coach at Cal U. The 2007 and 2010 Wilson/ITA National Coach of the Year, he has posted a combined dual record of 239-74 overall (.764) and a 77-15 mark (.837) in PSAC play to become the winningest coach in program history. The Vulcans have earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament in 10 of the last 11 seasons, including quarterfinal appearances in six of the last seven years under Montana.
 
Tina Tharp is in her sixth season as both the men's and women's tennis head coach at West Chester. She has posted a record of 72-55 in her six seasons as women's head coach and earned PSAC East Women's Coach of the Year honors in 2010 and 2011.
 
Looking Ahead: The winner will advance to the PSAC Tournament Championship and play the winner of the Bloomsburg-IUP semifinal match. The championship match is scheduled for Friday, April 18. at 12 p.m.