Box Score
INDIANA, PA – In a battle of two of the top three ranked teams in the Atlantic Region, the 44th-ranked IUP women's tennis team came out on top with a 7-2 victory over 47th-ranked West Virginia State during Senior Day on Saturday.
The Crimson Hawks entered the day ranked second on the Atlantic Region and improve to 15-6 overall while the Yellow Jackets were third and fall to 16-7 on the year. It was also IUP's 12th consecutive victory.
The top two teams in the Atlantic Region after conference tournaments are finished are rewarded as NCAA regional first round hosts.
In doubles action, the Yellow Jackets picked off a victory as Andreea Slusarcuic and Brittany Franco defeated
Katie Eaton (Halesowen, United Kingdom/Haybridge) and
Erika Schnaas (Mexico City, Mexico/Escuela Nacional Preparatoria ) 8-6 at number one.
IUP rallied for a pair of victories with
Tanya Timko (Cannonsburg, PA/Chartiers-Houston) and
Emilia Osborne (Leighton Buzzard, United Kingdom/Cedars ) pairing for an 8-4 win over Cora Berna and Diana Cotoros at number two and
Abby McCormick (Bethel Park, Pa. /Bethel Park) and
Alanna McFail (Fort Washington, Md. /St. John's College ) defeating Jordan Kerns and Charlotte Sandy 8-5 at number three.
In singles play, Timko and Osborne snared a pair of exciting three-set wins at two and four, respectively. Timko defeated Slusarciuc 6-2, 5-7, 10-2 and Osborne took down Bern 6-4, 5-7, 10-6.
Schnaas had IUP's only singles loss, falling to Sandy 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4) at number five.
Ranvita Mahto (Burlington, ON/Robert Bateman) defeated Kerns 6-3, 6-1 at number six and McCormick beat Cotoros 6-2, 6-0 at three.
Eaton finished things off with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Franco at number one.
Senior Day was celebrated before the match as IUP's Eaton and Osborne were honored for their four seasons as members of the Crimson Hawks. They've helped contribute to a 75-30 record during their four seasons, including three trips to the NCAA tournament and two appearances in the PSAC championship match.
They're also the two most accomplished IUP tennis players in terms of individual victories as Eaton is first in program history with 172 combined all-time wins and Osborne is second with 169. Eaton is also first with 82 singles wins (Osborne second with 72) and Osborne has 97 career doubles wins (Eaton second with 90).
The Crimson Hawks will now Mercyhurst in the first round of the 2013 PSAC Women's Tennis Championships next Tuesday at 3:00 p.m.
