Junior women’s tennis player Tanya Timko has been named the 2013-14 IUP Female Athlete of the Year. The number one singles and doubles player for the Crimson Hawks, she was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Year.
She had a breakout year in the pressure-packed top position for IUP, notching a school-record tying 50 combined wins and reaching an individual national ranking of No. 19 in Division II. The ranking was the highest by an individual IUP player in program history, and came after defeating Lucie Sipkova of California (PA), the then-fifth ranked player in the nation, in three exciting sets.
That win also propelled her to the top of the Atlantic Regional rankings, a highest ever rank for any IUP women’s tennis player. She was a perfect 6-0 in PSAC West play and went 6-1 against top 20 players from the region, and finished with an overall singles record of 23-11.
Also excelling on the doubles side, she combined with three different players to go 27-7 on the year, tying the program record for doubles wins in a season. She was ranked in the Atlantic Region with two different partners, reaching third with Abby McCormick and second with Erika Schnaas. She and Schnaas earned first team All-PSAC West honors in doubles play.
For her career, she’s third all-time in program history with 142 combined wins, third with 78 doubles wins, and fifth with 64 singles victories.
Also excelling on the academic side, Timko was named to the 2014 Capital One Academic All-District 2 at-large team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. She was also one of five women from the conference to earn the PSAC Spring Top 10 award, which recognizes athletic and academic achievements.
