WEST CHESTER, Pa. –
Claire Uhle (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) reached the finals of the singles competition at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Individual Championships Sunday evening, but did not have enough left to complete her Cinderella run to the title, falling 6-0 to Mercyhurst's Saoia Gomez on South Campus.
Uhle, seeded 5-8 in the re-draw at the beginning of the tournament, was playing her eighth tennis match of the day Sunday when she took the court for the women's singles final a little after 4 p.m. Gomez was on her fifth set as she was not part of the doubles championships.
Uhle reached the championship by upsetting No. 2 seed Ramona Czakon from California, Pa., 7-6 (5) in the quarterfinals, before bumping off No. 4 seed Oranza Carrillo from Edinboro, 6-3, in the semifinals. All matches played on Sunday were single sets due to the abbreviated schedule following Saturday's virtual washout of the tournament. The transfer from Northern Colorado was a 6-2 winner over Nina Barbano from Slippery Rock in the second round, following an 8-1 win over Lauren Zezenski from Clarion.
Earlier in the afternoon, Uhle teamed up with Maddy Shaak in the doubles flight and reached the semifinals, before bowing to the eventual champions from Cal (Kiefer Shaw/Jesse Burrell), 6-4. Uhle and Shaak downed the pair from Indiana, Pa., Tanya Timko and Luise von Agris, 6-1 in the quarterfinals, after topping Bloomsburg's pair Aida Diop and Caitlin Flynn, 6-2, in the first round. Shaw and Burrell defeated teammates Lucie Rey and Czakon, 6-4, to take the women's doubles title in an all-Cal final.
Shaak's singles play came to a close in the second round, 6-1, at the hands of Czakon. Shaak had advanced past the first round in one of the few matches played on Saturday, before rain wiped out the rest of the day.
West Chester is off to the ITA Regional Championships next weekend in Erie, Pa.
