CALIFORNIA (May 1) – The No. 12 California University of Pennsylvania tennis team will compete in the NCAA Tournament for the 10th-consecutive season on Sunday, May 4, at 10 a.m. The Vulcans will face the winner of an opening-round match between Merychurst and West Liberty at Roadman Park, weather permitting.

NCAA Playoffs: Cal U earned the top seed in the Atlantic Region and hosting rights for the preliminary rounds of the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday night. In addition to the Vulcans, Mercyhurst will face West Liberty in a first-round game at Roadman Park on Saturday, May 4 at 10 a.m. IUP will host another opening-round match against Chowan, who earned the automatic qualifier from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), with the winner facing the advancing team from third-seeded West Virginia State and sixth-seeded Slippery Rock.

National Rankings: Cal U and IUP are the only programs from the Atlantic Region ranked in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings. The Vulcans are No. 12 in the country and Crimson Hawks sit at No. 42. Two Cal U standouts are listed in the singles rankings, including senior Lucie Sipkova (Pardubice, Czech Republic/Gymnazium Pardubice Mozartova who is ranked No. 20, and junior Ramona Czakon (Trier, Germany/Tampereen Lyseon Lukio) who is slotted at No. 34. In addition, the doubles pairing of Sipkova and junior Lucie Rey (Geneva, Switzerland/Colombieres) are ranked No. 12 in the latest doubles rankings.

Regional Rankings: The Vulcans hold the top spot in the Atlantic Region, while West Liberty and Mercyhurst rank fourth and fifth, respectively. Individually, Sipkova slipped to second in the region, while Czakon fell to fourth, freshman Kiefer Shaw (Westmount, Quebec/Centennial) moved up two places to No. 5 and Rey remained at No. 14. Mercyhurst has a pair of singles competitors in the top 20 with Caroline Bristol slotted at No. 8 and Courtney Thompson at No. 18. West Liberty also features a pair of top-20 singles players with Lauren Howard at No. 10 and Raissa Wischi at No. 17 in the rankings.

In doubles play, Cal U features two of the top-five tandems in the region. Sipkova and Rey hold the No. 1 ranking with Czakon and freshman Mariela Sarinana (Mexico City, Mexico/Miraflores) ranking fourth. West Liberty and Mercyhurst each feature a doubles pair in the top 10. West Liberty's pairing of Howard and Wischi are slotted at No. 5, while the Mercyhurst duo of Bristol and Sarah Baich are ranked sixth.

Scouting the Vulcans: Cal U enters the tournament on an 11-match winning streak with its only loss this spring coming at NCAA Division I West Virginia on Feb. 7. The 2013 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 a 10-match winning streak. Sarinana is close behind with 16 victories after winning a team-best 11-straight matches in singles play, while Shaw, the PSAC Freshman of the Year, is currently on a 10-match winning streak playing primarily at the fourth position. In doubles, Sipkova and Rey have tallied 21 victories after earning ITA All-America status last year. The tandem of Czakon and Sarinana has won 11-straight matches while playing primarily at the second position. Shaw and junior Jesse Burrell (Perth, Australia/Presbyterian Ladies' College) have won each of their last four matches together at the third position.

Vulcans in the Playoffs: Cal U has posted an impressive 17-6 record in the NCAA Tournament since 2008 and has advanced to the quarterfinals in six of the last seven years, including five straight.

Scouting the Hilltoppers: After starting the season 14-3 and winning 11 of its first 12 matches, West Liberty has lost its final six matches to finish the regular season 14-9 overall. The Hilltoppers fell in the finals of the first-ever MEC Championship in October to West Virgia State.

Hilltoppers in the Playoffs: West Liberty is making its fourth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and has not advanced beyond the first round in any of those previous appearances.

Last Meeting: (Box Score) The Vulcans earned a 6-0 win in the opening round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament while playing indoors at Club Sport and Health in Monroeville, Pa. The Vulcans swept doubles play by a combined score of 24-3 and proceeded to earn a trio of 6-0, 6-0 wins in singles to secure the match victory.

Scouting the Lakers: Mercyhurst enters the weekend with a 12-5 record, including victories in nine of its last 12 matches. Thompson leads the team in singles with a 15-8 record primarily at the second position, while Bristol has turned in a 13-8 mark playing at the first slot. Against IUP in the PSAC Tournament, Thompson was in the midst of a 4-6, 6-3, 1-1 match before the Crimson Hawks secured enough points to claim the match.

Lakers in the Playoffs: Mercyhurst is making a consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and fourth trip in the last five years. Last season, the Lakers defeated West Liberty 5-0 in the opening round before losing the following day to Cal U in the second round.

Last Meeting: (Box Score) The Vulcans posted an 8-1 win over Mercyhurst this spring in PSAC West play on March 29. Cal U won all three doubles matches and five of the six singles matches to earn the victory. The Lakers lone win came at the third singles position, as Mercyhurst's Sarah Baich defeated Rey by a 7-5, 3-6, 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 241-74 overall and a 78-15 mark in PSAC play to become the winningest coach in program history. This spring, he was named the PSAC Coach of the Year for the third time in the last four seasons and eighth time in his career. The Vulcans have earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament in 11 of the his 12 seasons, including quarterfinal appearances in six of the last seven years.

Heather Gallagher is in her ninth season as head coach at West Liberty. Her teams have received berths to six NCAA Tournaments, including appearances in each of the last four.

Jerome Simon is in his third season as head coach at Mercyhurst. His women's teams have compiled a 36-15 record in his three seasons and has guided the Lakers to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. In 2013, Simon earned Wilson/ITA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year after guiding his team to a 15-5 record and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Looking Ahead: The advancing team from all the preliminary-round sites will travel to Altamonte Springs, Fla., for the Round of 16. The final rounds of the NCAA Tournament are scheduled from May 14-17 with the pairings announced following the preliminary rounds.