Box ScoreERIE, Pa. (March 26) – The No. 18 California University of Pennsylvania tennis team opened league play on Saturday afternoon with a 6-3 victory against No. 46 Mercyhurst at Pennbriar Athletic Club in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action.
With the win, the Vulcans improve to 9-2 overall and extend their winning streak to eight matches. Meanwhile, the Lakers fall to 5-3 this season with a 1-1 divisional mark.
Cal U swept doubles play for the seventh time this year on Saturday. At the first position, the No. 12 tandem of sophomore
Lena Dimmer (Wallendorf-Pont, Luxembourg/Lycée Classique) and junior
Kiefer Shaw (Westmount, Quebec/Centennial) posted an 8-4 victory over Adrianna Jeffress and Kayla Frost. Junior
Jasi Witherspoon (Macon, Ga./Howard) and freshman
Holly Bennett (Kingston, United Kingdom/Sussex Downs-Lewes) tallied an 8-4 win at the second position against Saioa Gomez de Segura and Annie Baich, who are the third-ranked doubles team in the region. At third doubles, juniors
Veronika Mikulis (Otterburn Park, Quebec/Heritage Regional) and
Alyssa Savill (Holbrook, Australia/Billabong) collected a 9-8 (7-3) victory over Adina Spahalic and Carmen Mantecon Duro.
The Vulcans claimed the match win by winning three matches in the singles session. At the first slot, No. 24 de Segura claimed a 6-4, 6-4 win over Shaw in a rematch of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) regional finals from the fall. Dimmer, who is slotted No. 30 in the latest national rankings, posted her 15th victory of the season with a 6-2, 6-3 victory at the second position against Jeffress. Witherspoon collected a 7-6, 6-4 win over Duro at third singles, while Mikulis outlasted Baich by a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 margin at the fourth slot. Benntt suffered a 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 loss at the fifth position against Frost and freshman
Jacqueline Olivia (Bandung, Indonesia/SMAK 1 BPK Penabur) dropped a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Spahalic at the sixth slot.
Cal U continues PSAC West play on Tuesday, March 29, when it hosts Edinboro at 2 p.m.
