Women's Tennis | 3/31/2015 11:42:00 AM

WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's tennis team put up a good fight but couldn't get over the hump Monday afternoon as No. 12-ranked California (Pa.) pulled away to an 8-1 win at a sunny but windswept Edgar Martin Tennis Complex.
    Coach Heather Gallagher's Hilltoppers (12-7) got a big win at No. 1 doubles when Lauren Howard and Raquel Cabero outlasted the Vulcans' (4-2) top tandem of Ramona Czakon and Mariela Sarinana by a 9-8 count on the strength of a 7-4 win in the tiebreaker.
    That proved to be the high-water mark for the Black and Gold, however, as California took the other two doubles matches to carry a 2-1 lead into singles play and then went unbeaten in singles action to complete the win.
    Howard and Czakon, ranked No. 35 in the nation, locked horns in an instant classic at No. 1 singles. Czakon opened with a 6-3 win in the first set but Howard bounced back with a 6-4 nod in the second set. Howard came up just short of taking the decision, falling by a 10-8 count in a tightly-played tiebreaker.
    The Lady Hilltoppers go back on the road Wednesday with a 4 p.m. match against St. Vincent's (Pa.) in Latrobe, Pa.
 
WOMEN'S TENNIS
No. 12 California (Pa.) 8, West Liberty 1
Singles
Ramona Czakon (Cal) d. Lauren Howard, 6-3 4-6 (10-8)
Lena Dimmer (Cal) d. Emily Dawson, 6-4 6-2
Alice Johns (Cal) d. Raquel Cabero, 6-3 6-2
Mariela Sarinana (Cal) d. Kate Pinchuk, 6-2 6-3
Katie Olson (Cal) d. Andrea Puga, 6-1 6-2
Jessie Burrell (Cal) d. Lisa Nachtwey, 6-1 6-0
Doubles
Howard/Cabero (WLU) d. Czakon/Sarinana, 9-8 (4)
Veronika Mikulis/Kiefer Shaw (Cal) d. Dawson/Alaina Pauley, 8-1
Burrell/Dimmer (Cal) d. Pinchuk/Nachtwey, 8-1