Box ScorePITTSBURGH (April 12) – The No. 12 California University of Pennsylvania tennis team suffered its first loss in nearly two months on Sunday afternoon when it dropped a 7-2 match at Carnegie Mellon, a perennial power in NCAA Division III.
With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 9-3 this season while having their eight-match win streak snapped. Meanwhile, the No. 7 Tartans closed out their regular season by improving to 13-5 overall.
Carnegie Mellon jumped out to a 3-0 match lead after sweeping the doubles session, marking the first time this year that Cal U lost all three doubles matches. At the first position, sophomore
Kiefer Shaw (Westmount, Quebec/Centennial) and senior
Jesse Burrell (Perth, Australia/Presbyterian Ladies' College) opened play by dropping an 8-5 match to Bryn Raschke and Cori Sidell. Senior
Ramona Czakon (Trier, Germany/Tampereen Lyseon Lukio) and sophomore
Mariela Sarinana (Mexico City, Mexico/Miraflores) then suffered an 8-4 loss to Angela Pratt and Vanessa Pavia at the second position. The Tartans closed doubles play when Brooke Tsu and Nicholle Torres claimed a 9-8 (7-5) victory against sophomore
Veronika Mikulis (Otterburn Park, Quebec/Heritage Regional) and freshman
Lena Dimmer (Wallendorf-Pont, Luxembourg/Lycée Classique).
The Tartans clinched the match victory after winning four of six singles matches on Sunday. Tsu opened the singles session with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Sarinana at the fourth position before Czakon registered a 6-2, 6-0 victory at the second slot against Pratt. At first singles, Pavia then dealt Shaw a 6-3, 6-3 defeat before Torres earned a 6-3, 7-6 win at the third position over Dimmer. Raschke outlasted Mikulis by a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 count at the sixth slot, while freshman
Alice Johns (Northampton, England/Northampton) closed the match with a 6-4, 6-4 victory against Sidell at sixth singles.
Cal U returns to action tomorrow, Monday, April 13, when it travels to face Clarion in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play at 10 a.m.
