GameDay Central
Atlantic No. 2 IUP Crimson Hawks (19-9)
vs. South No. 1 Barry Buccaneers (24-1)
Wednesday, May 14, 2014 | 10:30 a.m.
Sanlando Park | Altamonte Springs, FL
NCAA Division II Championships – Round of 16
 
Live Results: Statbroadcast.com
 
NCAA Links
Championship Bracket | Regional Results
 
AT A GLANCE
The Crimson Hawks return to the sweet 16 for the fourth consecutive season and will face off against Barry University in the 2014 NCAA Division II Championships on Wednesday in Atlamonte Springs, FL. IUP advances to the championship round as the second seed in the Atlantic Region while Barry is the top school in the powerful South Region.
 
HOW THEY GOT HERE
IUP served as one of two hosts for the Atlantic Region championships and defeated Chowan 5-0 and West Virginia State 5-2. Barry earned a first round bye in its region before defeating West Florida by a score of 5-1.
 
BEST IN THE PSAC
Jr. Tanya Timko (Cannonsburg, PA/Chartiers-Houston) was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Year after boasting a perfect 6-0 record in the division and a 6-1 mark against top ranked players from the Atlantic Region. She's the second IUP player to earn athlete of the year honors from the conference, and breaks a streak of eight consecutive West Athletes of the Year won by California (PA). She is currently 50-17 overall, including 23-11 mark in singles play.
 
ONE AWAY
With her singles win over West Virginia State's Brittany Franco in the regional final, Timko tied the IUP single season record with 50 combined victories. She ties the mark set by both herself (2012-13) and Tabtip Louhabanjong (2010-11) and is just one doubles or singles win way from owning the all-time mark. Her 27 doubles victories this season is also tied for the most in school history along with Emilia Osborne (Leighton Buzzard, United Kingdom/Cedars ) (2010-11 and 2012-13) and herself (2012-13).
 
MAKING IT A TRADITION
As stated earlier, this is the fourth straight year that the Crimson Hawks have advanced to the NCAA championship round of 16. IUP has not yet won a match at this level, falling to Southwest Baptist in 2013, Abilene Christian in 2012, and Armstrong Atlantic in 2011. IUP is a combined 81-32 during that time and have been the PSAC championship runner-up each year.
 
FACING THE BEST
Barry enters the NCAA championship round ranked as the top team in the nation by the ITA. Three Buccaneers are ranked in the top 25 in the nation, including Emma Onila (seventh), Karina Goia (ninth) and Linda Fritschken (23^rd). The trio has seen action at each of the top three spots and have combined for a 41-3 overall record. Two doubles teams are also ranked in the top 10 nationally, including Kimmy Twelker and Anaeve Pain (sixth) and Onila and Fritschken (seventh).
 
UP NEXT
With a win on Wednesday, the Crimson Hawks would advance to the national quarterfinals to face the winner of Concordia (East No. 2) and Southwest Baptist (Central No. 1). That match will be played on Thursday, May 15 at 9 a.m.