CALIFORNIA (April 18) – The No. 12 California University of Pennsylvania tennis team will play in the championship match of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament for the ninth-consecutive season on Friday, April 18, at 12 p.m. The Vulcans are facing rival IUP in the finals of the league tournament for the fourth-straight year. West Chester is 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 advanced to the championship match with a 5-0 victory yesterday over host West Chester, who was the No. 2 seed from the East. IUP is the No. 2 seed from the PSAC West and earned a 5-0 win over PSAC East top seed Bloomsburg yesterday after dispatching Mercyhurst by a 5-1 count in the quarterfinals.
 
National Rankings: Cal U and IUP are the only programs from the PSAC ranked in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings. The Vulcans are No. 12 in the country and Crimson Hawks sits at No. 44. Two Cal U standouts 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 and Crimson Hawks hold the top two spots in rankings for the Atlantic Region. Cal U and IUP each feature four of the region's top-20 singles players, as 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. For the Crimson Hawks, junior Tanya Timko ranks No. 8, freshman Sophie Butland sits No. 13 and juniors Abby McCromick and Erika Schnaas are back-to-back at Nos. 17-18. In addition, the Cal U pairing of Rey and Sipkova are the top doubles team in the Atlantic Region. The Crimson Hawks feature a pair of the top-10 doubles tandem in the region with Timko and McCromick ranked third and sophomore Alanna McFail and Butland sitting at No. 10.
 
Scouting the Vulcans: Cal U enters today's on a 10-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. Freshman Veronika Mikulis (Otterburn Park, Quebec/Heritage Regional) ranks second on the team with 18 wins in singles play behind 10-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 10-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, the Vulcans would tie Bloomsburg for the most championships (10) in league history in women's tennis.
 
Scouting the Crimson Hawks: After losing three of four matches, IUP has won its last three matches to advance today's league championships. The PSAC Champion Scholar, Timko leads the team with 22 singles wins highlighted by an upset victory over Sipkova on Feb. 8. Butland ranks second on the team with 16 victories while playing at three different positions. Four other players for the Crimson Hawks have at least a dozen wins in singles play this season. In doubles, Timko and Schnaas have tallied a 12-1 mark at the first position with their only loss coming against Sipkova and Rey. The tandem of Butland and McFail has recorded 10 victories since playing at the second slot this spring.

Crimson Hawks in the Playoffs: IUP is making its fourth-straight appearance in the PSAC Tournament, advancing to the championship match each time.
 
Series: Cal U has won the last the 13 meetings against IUP, including victories in the last three PSAC Championships. The Crimson Hawks last defeated the Vulcans during the 2003-04 campaign.
 
Last Meeting: (Box Score) The Vulcans earned an 8-1 win over the Crimson Hawks earlier this month. IUP picked up its lone victory at first singles when Timko outlasted Sipkova by a 1-6, 6-3, 10-8 margin.
 
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 240-74 overall and a 78-15 mark 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.
 
Larry Peterson is in his fifth season as head coach at IUP and has led the Crimson Hawks to the NCAA Tournament in three-straight years. In 2011, he led the program to its first-ever appearance in the PSAC Tournament and was named the Atlantic Region Coach of the Year.
 
Looking Ahead: Cal U and IUP are scheduled to play matches next week in preparation for likely selections to the NCAA Tournament. The pairings for the 2014 NCAA Tournament are announced on April 29.