ROUND OF 16
ORLANDO, Fla. --- IUP conclude their 2023 season in the NCAA DII Women’s Tennis Championship Round of 16. The Crimson Hawks were defeated by Wayne State, 4-1, on Friday evening.
IUP’s only point came from success in the doubles section of the match. The No. 3 doubles pairing of Laura Dunarova/Lydia Vlachou first won their match 6-2, followed by a 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles by Natalie Kmoskova/Joanna Stralka.
IUP end a successful season in which they finished with a 14-10 overall record and a third-straight PSAC Championship title.
SECOND ROUND
IUP defeats Slippery Rock, 4-1
GREENSBURG, Pa. --- The IUP Crimson Hawks defeated Slippery Rock, 4-1, Tuesday afternoon from Greensburg Racquet Club to capture their fifth Atlantic Region Championship since 2017.
In a rematch of this year's PSAC Championship Final against the Rock, the Crimson Hawks got off to a slow start and dropped the initial doubles point. Slippery Rock pairings Ad Gonzalez Sanchez/Teddi Isherwood (No. 1 doubles) and Dari Sakhanova/Tina Slovak (No. 3 doubles) each won their matches to put a point on the board.
In the following singles competition, IUP picked up momentum and won their next four matches to secure the regional title. First, Natalie Kmoskova made quick work of her competition with a 6-0, 6-1 win at the No. 2 singles spot, followed by another straight set (6-4, 6-2) win from Lydia Vlachou at No. 5 singles. After a hard-fought second-set tiebreak, No. 6 singles Laura Dunarova claimed the third point for the Crimson Hawks, while No. 3 singles Joanna Stralka clinched the fourth and final point in three sets (6-3, 3-6, 6-1) to take the match.
The victory pushes IUP to their seventh consecutive victory and brings their campaign to 14-9 for the season. Next, the Crimson Hawks make their 11th NCAA DII Championships appearance in the last 13 years, with the Round of 16 set to begin Thursday, May 11 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
FIRST ROUND
IUP defeats Shaw, 4-0
INDIANA, Pa. - The No. 2-seeded Crimson Hawks began their journey in the 2023 NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Atlantic Regional by dispatching of Shaw University, 4-0, in Monday's opening round. IUP got off to a quick start, clinching the doubles point with victories by Katy Graydon/Karolin Kirchtag (6-0) and Laura Dunarova/Lydia Vlachou (6-1). The Hawks rode that momentum into singles competition, with wins coming from Kirchtag (6-0, 6-1), Graydon (6-2, 6-4), and Vlachou (6-0, 6-0) to seal the victory. IUP advances to face Slippery Rock on Tuesday, May 2 at 12:00 PM, where the winner will head to the national championships. IUP is seeking a fifth regional title since the 2017 season.
Slippery Rock defeats Fairmont State, 4-1
INDIANA, Pa. - Despite falling down early and ceding the doubles point to Fairmont State, the Slippery Rock University women's tennis team fought back and claimed the match, 4-1, in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional. The singles victories came from No. 1 Adriana Gonzalez Sanchez (6-2, 6-3), No. 2 Gabriela del Val del Toro (6-2, 6-1), No. 3 Dari Sakhanova (6-1, 6-0), and Georgie Lancaster (6-2, 6-3) at No. 6 singles. The win sets up a rematch of the 2023 PSAC Women's Tennis Championship Match, with the Rock looking to bounce back from the 4-1 defeat two weekends ago. Tuesday's match begins at 12:00 p.m.
PREVIEW
IUP and Slippery Rock were selected to compete in the 2023 NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championships, announced by the NCAA on Monday evening. Both teams also competed last Sunday in the 2023 PSAC Women's Tennis Championship match.
2023 PSAC champion IUP (13-9 overall) clinches the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic Region and will host a four-team bracket this weekend, including its first-round opponent Shaw (14-4 overall), who earned the No. 7 seed. The other matchup features No. 3 seed and 2023 PSAC runner-up Slippery Rock (14-8 overall and making its 20
th all-time NCAA appearance) versus No. 6 Fairmont St. (13-6). The 2023 NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Atlantic Regional gets underway on Monday, May 1.