Tennis falls to No. 1 Armstrong Atlantic

ORLANDO (March 6) – In a rematch of last year’s NCAA Division II Quarterfinals, the No. 13 California University of Pennsylvania tennis team suffered a 5-3 loss on Saturday to defending-National Champion and No. 1-ranked Armstrong Atlantic (Ga).

With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 8-3 overall and have now played five nationally-ranked opponents this season. Meanwhile, the Pirates improve to 11-0 this season after winning the national title with a 28-1 mark last year.

After being narrowly swept in doubles play, Cal U rallied to win three matches in singles play against Armstrong Atlantic. Playing only her third match with the Vulcans, junior transfer Julia Cohen (Philadelphia, Pa./Laurel Springs/Miami (Fla.)) defeated the No. 1-ranked singles player in the nation Sona Novakova, 7-5, 3-6, 10-4, at first singles. Freshman Jutta Bornefeld (Varel, Germany) rallied to defeat 15th-ranked Gabriella Kovacs at the fourth position, 4-6, 7-6, 10-4, and classmate Jade Pondicas (South Africa) posted a 6-4, 7-6 victory over Alisa Kagukina at six singles.

Sophomore Anastassiya Zherdeva (Almaty, Kazakhstan) registered a win in the first set before falling to 38th-ranked Tina Ronel, 4-6, 7-5, 10-4.

With the match featuring four of the top-15 ranked doubles team in the nation, Armstrong Atlantic swept doubles play with a pair of narrow victories. Playing only their second match as a doubles team, Cohen and Bornefeld suffered an 8-5 loss to third-ranked Martina Beckman and Alida Muller-Wehlau. At third doubles, Zherdeva and Pondicas dropped a 9-7 match to 15th-ranked Kathleen Henry and Ronel.

The Vulcans continue Spring Break play on Sunday, March, 7, when they travel to Tampa, Fla., to face Hillsborough Community College, the top-ranked JUCO team in the country. Last season, Cal U posted a 6-3 victory at Hillsborough – the 2008 JUCO National Champions.