Results
INDIANA, PA - Three different Crimson Hawks had two wins apiece, including
Emilia Osborne (Leighton Buzzard, United Kingdom/Cedars ) who had the clinching singles win as No. 29 IUP defeated Mercyhurst 7-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division opener for both schools on Tuesday afternoon at the Maple Street Courts.
The win over the Lakers is believed to be the first ever for IUP, as the Crimson Hawks move to 10-5 overall and 1-0 in the PSAC West while Mercyhurst is now 7-3, 0-1.
The doubles win for Osborne also moves her into a tie for second all-time at IUP with 63 victories as she teamed with
Tanya Timko (Cannonsburg, PA/Chartiers-Houston) for an 8-1 win over Rebecca Haener and Courtney Thompson at number two.
Erika Schnaas (Mexico City, Mexico/Escuela Nacional Preparatoria ) and
Ranvita Mahto (Burlington, ON/Robert Bateman) paired at number three for another 8-1 victory, this one over Mercyhurst's Katelyn Caniford and Courtney Conway. It was a tight battle over two of the top 10 doubles teams in the region at number one, as
Tabtip Louhabanjong (Krabi, Thailand/West Anchorage (AK)) and
Katie Eaton (Halesowen, United Kingdom/Haybridge) fell to Caroline Bristol and Sarah Baich 9-7. Louhabanjong and Eaton are ranked ninth in the Atlantic region while Bristol and Baich are ranked 10th.
In singles action, Schnaas started off with an easy 6-1, 6-0 win over Conway at number six before
Abby McCormick (Bethel Park, Pa. /Bethel Park) defeated Baich 6-2, 6-2 at five.
Osborne then picked up the clinching win at five with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Taylor Wedlake. Louhabanjong won at number one, 6-4, 6-1 over Bristol before Eaton defeated Haener 6-1, 6-2 at number three. Timko nearly made it a clean sweep in singles play, falling in a three-setter 6-1, 3-6, 12-10. Timko actually fell behind 3-0 in the second set before breaking off six straight points to force the third and exciting set.
The Crimson Hawks, now winners of three straight, travel to Edinboro on Friday before hosting Ashland on Saturday and PSAC West rival Cal on Sunday.
