Box Score

SLIPPERY ROCK, PA – Tanya Timko (Cannonsburg, PA/Chartiers-Houston) got her fourth straight victory over a regionally-ranked opponent to help boost the 44th-ranked IUP women's tennis team to a dominating 7-2 win over Slippery Rock in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West match on Wednesday afternoon.
 
The match was originally scheduled for Thursday afternoon but was moved up a day due to rainy weather in the forecast.
 
The Crimson Hawks improve to 10-5 overall with the win, their fifth straight. They also clinched at least home match in the quarterfinals of the PSAC tournament later this month and currently lead the West with a 4-0 divisional record. Slippery Rock falls to 9-9 and 2-2.
 
In addition to it being her fourth straight singles victory over a regionally ranked opponent, it was also Timko's fourth consecutive ranked win in doubles play. She teamed with Erika Schnaas (Mexico City, Mexico/Escuela Nacional Preparatoria ) for an 8-6 victory at No. 1 over Nikolina Grbac and Sarah Jourmond, who are ranked seventh in the Atlantic Region.
 
Sophie Butland (Taunton, Somerset U.K./Bishop Fox's Community School) and Alanna McFail (Fort Washington, Md. /St. John's College ) defeated Lauren Coggins and Kylee Woodman 8-6 at No. 2 but Rachel Wood (Nottingham, U.K./West Bridgrord) and Ranvita Mahto (Burlington, ON/Robert Bateman) fell to Stephanie Fortier and Courtney Gallagher at No. 3, also by an 8-6 score.
 
Timko's singles win came at No. 1 over Grbac, who is currently ranked fourth in the region, the highest non-California (PA) singles player on the list. She won handedly, 6-3, 6-3 over Grbac.
 
Her big wins came on the same day that she was named the PSAC West Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week, as she's now gone a combined 10-0 during IUP's five-match win streak.
 
Wood had IUP's first singles win, 6-1, 6-1 over Woodman at No. 5. McFail then defeated Gallagher 6-1, 6-4 at No. 6 and Schnaas won 6-3, 6-1 over Coggins at No. 2.
 
Jourmond picked up Slippery Rock's only singles win at No. 2, besting Butland by a score of 4-6, 6-4, 10-2.
 
Mahto had the most exciting singles match of the afternoon, defeating Fortier 3-6, 6-2, 11-9 at No. 4. Down 5-0 in the super breaker, she rallied to tie things at 7-7 and then 9-9 before getting the final two points for three-set win. The victory was also Mahto's 68th career singles victory, moving her into third place all-time at IUP behind Katie Eaton (Halesowen, United Kingdom/Haybridge) (81) and Emilia Osborne (Leighton Buzzard, United Kingdom/Cedars ) (73).
 
The Crimson Hawks are off until this weekend when they travel to Ohio to face Ashland on Saturday before hosting Chestnut Hill on Sunday afternoon. A huge match with regional-leader California (PA) looms next Tuesday.