Box Score
CALIFORNIA (April 16) – The No. 18 California University of Pennsylvania tennis team captured the program's 12th-straight divisional title on Saturday afternoon with a 9-0 victory over Slippery Rock in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play at Roadman Park.
With the win, the Vulcans improve to 15-2 overall and extend their winning streak to 14 matches. Cal U also finishes divisional play with a 6-0 record, as it hasn't lost a conference match since the 2004-05 season. Meanwhile, Slippery Rock falls to 12-9 this season with a 2-3 record in league play.
"This is very rewarding to capture our 12th-consecutive regular-season championship. Our team has glued together and the players are playing with great focus," said head coach
Pablo Montana. "Despite having clinched the Western Division, this team still has its sights set on the PSAC Tournament in a couple of weeks [April 29-30]."
Cal U cruised to a sweep in doubles play for the 10th-straight match on Saturday. At the first position, the tandem of senior
Kiefer Shaw (Westmount, Quebec/Centennial) and sophomore
Lena Dimmer (Wallendorf-Pont, Luxembourg/Lycée Classique) extended their winning streak to 11 matches with an 8-3 victory over Carla Corrochano and Tiffany Kush. Junior
Jasi Witherspoon (Macon, Ga./Howard) and freshman
Holly Bennett (Kingston, United Kingdom/Sussex Downs-Lewes) registered an 8-2 win at second doubles against Nina Barbano and Amanda Bruscemi, while juniors
Veronika Mikulis (Otterburn Park, Quebec/Heritage Regional) and
Alyssa Savill (Holbrook, Australia/Billabong) blanked Stephanie Fortier and Kylee Woodman at the third position by an 8-0 count.
The Vulcans completed the match victory against The Rock by winning all six singles matches, all in straight sets. Shaw collected a 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) victory over Barbano at the first slot in a match featuring a pair of regionally-ranked players. Dimmer cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 win at second singles over Kollah and Witherspoon recorded a 6-2, 6-4 victory against Bruscemi at the third position. Mikulis won her 18th match of the year with a 6-3, 6-1 victory at the fourth slot over Fortier. Bennett tallied a 6-3, 6-3 win against Allie Welch at fifth singles and Savill posted a 6-4, 6-3 win at the sixth position over Woodman.
Cal U closes out the regular season tomorrow, Sunday, April 17, when it hosts Duquesne at 12 p.m.
