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Box Score
WEST CHESTER, Pa. (April 18) – The No. 12 California University of Pennsylvania tennis team claimed its eighth-consecutive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship by earning a 5-0 win over No. 44 IUP in the finals of the league tournament on Friday afternoon.
With the victory, the Vulcans improve to 13-2 overall and extend their winning streak to 11 matches. Cal U entered the weekend as the top seed in the Atlantic Region and will likely make their 10th-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tournament Selection Show is scheduled to stream on NCAA.com at 8:30 p.m. on April 29.
Cal U swept doubles play for the sixth-straight match to take a 3-0 lead on Friday. At the first position, the No. 11 tandem of senior
Lucie Sipkova (Pardubice, Czech Republic/Gymnazium Pardubice Mozartova) and junior
Lucie Rey (Geneva, Switzerland/Colombieres) extended their winning streak to nine matches after outlasting Tanya Timko and Erika Schnaas by a 9-8 count. Junior
Ramona Czakon and freshman
Mariela Sarinana (Mexico City, Mexico/Miraflores) earned an 8-2 victory against the regionally-ranked duo of Sophie Butland and Alanna McFail. At the third slot, junior
Jesse Burrell (Perth, Australia/Presbyterian Ladies' College) and freshman
Kiefer Shaw (Westmount, Quebec/Centennial) tallied an 8-6 win over Roxana Yeh and Rachel Wood.
The Vulcans clinched the match victory and the league title with a pair of victories in singles play. Czakon recorded a 6-1, 6-0 victory over regionally-ranked Butland at the second position to extend her winning streak to 10 match. At fourth singles, Shaw collected her 18th victory of the year by blanking Wood by a 6-0, 6-0 margin.
Following the championship match, Sipkova was named the PSAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player for the second-straight year after teaming with Rey for a 9-8 win at first doubles on Friday against IUP.
Cal U is now tied with Bloomsburg for first place in conference history with 10 overall league titles (1991, 1993, 2007-14). The Vulcans and Crimson Hawks have played for the PSAC Championship in each of the last four seasons.
With the loss, the Crimson Hawks fall to 16-9 this season and will likely earn a berth to the NCAA Tournament after entering the weekend ranked second in the region.
