SKILLMAN, N.J. (Nov. 13) – The California University of Pennsylvania tennis team will open its spring season ranked No. 13 in the nation and first in the Atlantic Region, announced the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) recently.
The Vulcans feature a combined three players in the national rankings, highlighted by the ninth-ranked doubles team of juniors
Nina Kowalski (Hofheim, Germany/Man Taunus) and
Laurie Navarro (Eysus, France/Jules Supervielle).
Kowalski and Navarro posted a combined 11-2 record in the fall campaign and earned the doubles title at both the ITA Regional Championships and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Individual Championships.
In singles play, sophomore
Alina Stanila (Alexandria, Romania/Technical) ranks No. 29 nationally after finishing the fall season with a 13-2 overall record. Stanila also won the singles crown at the ITA Regional Championships and PSAC Individual Championships.
Kowalski also ranks No. 36 in the country in singles play after posting a 6-1 fall mark.
Regionally, Cal U dominates the Atlantic rankings with three of the top 10 doubles teams and five of the top 10 singles players. Stanila, Kowalski and sophomore
Axelle Fernandez (Nice, France/Institut Familial) are the top three-ranked singles player in the Atlantic Region, respectively, while Navarro is fifth and sophomore
Anastassiya Zherdeva (Almaty, Kazakhstan) is sixth.
In doubles play, Kowalski and Navarro are first in the region, while Stanila and Fernandez are ranked fourth.
Last year, Cal U finished No. 15 in the ITA national rankings and first in the Atlantic Region after advancing to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals for the second time in three seasons.