IUP defeated a highly-ranked Atlantic Region team for the third straight day and positioned itself for a move up the regional ladder with a 6-3 victory over Charleston Saturday at the Maple Street Courts.
The win for the fifth-ranked Crimson Hawks over the second-ranked Golden Eagles came on the heels of wins over No. 3 Slippery Rock and No. 4 West Virginia State the past two days. IUP improved its record to 13-5 with four matches remaining in the regular season.
IUP opened the match with victories in two of the three doubles matches, including an 8-3 win at No. 1 by
Katie Eaton (Halesowen, United Kingdom/Haybridge) and
Tabtip Louhabanjong (Krabi, Thailand/West Anchorage (AK)) over the region's No. 3-ranked team of Laura Smith and Sarah Monsheimer.
Alex Ballard (Akron, Ohio/St. Vincent-St. Mary) and
Emilia Osborne (Leighton Buzzard, United Kingdom/Cedars ) were victorious at No. 3 doubles.
Eaton cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 win over Marcela Torres, who is ranked ninth in the region in singles. Louhabanjong rallied from 0-4 down in the first set to defeat Monsheimer 7-5, 6-3 while
Ranvita Mahto (Burlington, ON/Robert Bateman) fought off a muscle strain in her quad to grind out a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 win over Smith. Osborne added IUP's fourth singles point with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Christina Samoilov.
The Crimson Hawks are back in action when it concludes its PSAC West schedule at Clarion.
Singles
No. 1 -
Katie Eaton (Halesowen, United Kingdom/Haybridge) (IUP) d. Marcela Torres 6-2, 6-3
No. 1 -
Tabtip Louhabanjong (Krabi, Thailand/West Anchorage (AK)) (IUP) d. Sarah Monsheimer 7-5, 6-3
No. 3 -
Emilia Osborne (Leighton Buzzard, United Kingdom/Cedars ) (IUP) d. Christian Samoilov 6-2, 6-3
No. 4 -
Ranvita Mahto (Burlington, ON/Robert Bateman) (IUP) d. Laura Smith 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
No. 5 - Ilaisanna Carter (UC) d.
Kelly McBryan (Grove City/Grove City) 6-4, 5-7, 6-0
No. 6 - Mallika Mali (UC) d.
Alex Ballard (Akron, Ohio/St. Vincent-St. Mary) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 - Eaton/Louhabanjong (IUP) d. Monsheimer/Smith 8-3
No. 2 - Torres/Samoilov (UC) d. Mahto/McBryan 8-5
No. 3 - Osborne/Ballard (IUP) d. Carter/Mali 8-2
