Box ScoreWEST CHESTER, PA – In what has become a tradition, IUP and California (PA) met for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Women's Tennis Championship, but for the fourth consecutive season the Vulcans would come out on top with a 5-0 victory on Friday.
It was Cal's eight consecutive PSAC title and the Vulcans' ninth overall.
The top two teams in the Atlantic Region battled tightly in doubles play, with the Crimson Hawks holding leads at both the No. 1 and No. 3 spots.
Tanya Timko (Cannonsburg, PA/Chartiers-Houston) and
Erika Schnaas (Mexico City, Mexico/Escuela Nacional Preparatoria ) held a 5-2 lead over Lucie Sipkova and Lucie Rey, the nation's 11
th-ranked pairing, at the top flight. Cal fought back to take a 6-5 lead but Timko and Schnaas got on the right side of the score by getting back on top 8-7. That would be the last lead for them, however, as the Vulcans ended up a 9-8 victory.
The No. 3 team of
Rachel Wood (Nottingham, U.K./West Bridgrord) and
Roxana Viviana Yeh (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Cangallo Schule) held leads of 3-2 and 6-5 before Cal's team of Jesse Burrell and Keifer Shaw squeaked out an 8-6 win.
At No. 2,
Sophie Butland (Taunton, Somerset U.K./Bishop Fox's Community School) and
Alanna McFail (Fort Washington, Md. /St. John's College ) lost to Ramona Czakon and Mariela Sarinana by a score of 8-2.
The Vulcans picked up two victories in singles play, one from Czakon over Butland at No. 2 and another from Shaw over Wood at No. 4 to clinch the conference crown. Czakon is the 38
th-ranked player in the nation and third in the region while Shaw is ranked seventh in the Atlantic.
The Crimson Hawks fall to 16-9 overall on the season while Cal improves to 13-2.
Holding onto the second spot in the region, the Crimson Hawks are nearly guaranteed as one of the two NCAA Atlantic Region tournament hosts, along with Cal. Prior to that, which will begin in two weeks, the Crimson Hawks will host West Liberty on April 23 and will travel to NYIT on April 27.
