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Results
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. (Oct. 11) – Juniors
Nina Kowalski (Hofheim, Germany/Man Taunus) and
Laurie Navarro (Eysus, France/Jules Supervielle) captured the doubles title for the Vulcans and sophomore
Alina Stanila (Alexandria, Romania/Technical) won the singles crown at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Individual Championships on Sunday at Shippensburg.
The California University of Pennsylvania tennis team has now won each of the last four singles and doubles titles at the annual PSAC Individual Championships. Stanila joins former All-American Inga Chilingaryan as the only players in program history to repeat as the PSAC Singles Champion.
Kowalski and Navarro entered the championship tournament as the No. 1 seed in the doubles bracket and posted a 3-0 record en route to the doubles championship. After a first-round bye, the Vulcan duo defeated Katie D’Ambrosia and Jamie Ferrigno of East Stroudsburg, 8-3, in the quarterfinals. After an 8-1 win in the semifinals, Kowalski and Navarro claimed an 8-0 victory against Mercyhurst’s Kim Ezzo and Meghan Raynor in the championship match.
In singles action, Stanila won the championship after posting a 4-0 record as the No. 1 seed in the bracket. After an opening-round bye, she earned a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Katie Hasyn of Bloomsburg. In the quarterfinals, Stanila claimed a 6-1, 6-0 win against Ezzo before defeating teammate
Anastassiya Zherdeva (Almaty, Kazakhstan) by a 6-4, 6-3 count in the semifinals. Stanila then earned the singles championship with a 6-0, 6-2 win over doubles partner
Axelle Fernandez (Nice, France/Institut Familial) in the finals.
Fernandez was the second seed in the tournament and posted a 3-1 record. In her second-round match, she earned a 6-0, 6-2 victory against Bloomsburg’s Emily Palko before dealing Ferrigno a 6-2, 6-0 defeat in the quarterfinals. Fernandez advanced to the championship match following a 7-6, 6-0 win over Chloe Pike of IUP.
Zherdeva also recorded a 3-1 mark at the PSAC Individual Championship in singles play. In the first round, she posted a 6-2, 6-1 win against Raynor before defeating Slippery Rock’s Laura Handy in three sets, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0, in the second round. Zherdeva earned a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Katie Eaton of IUP in the quarterfinals before losing to Stanila in the semifinals.
Last week, Kowalski, Navarro and Stanila qualified for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Championships in Mobile, Ala., after winning the singles and doubles titles at the ITA regional tournament. The four-day event begins on Thursday, Oct. 15.