GameDay Central
No. 2 IUP Crimson Hawks (17-9, 5-1 PSAC West)
Vs. No. 7 Chowan Hawks (23-7, 13-0 CIAA)
Saturday, May 3, 2014 | 11:00 a.m.
Maple Street Courts | Indiana, PA
NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional
 
NCAA Links
Regional Results | Championships Bracket
 
Host Links
Atlantic Regional Host Page
 
AT A GLANCE
The Crimson Hawks head to the NCAA postseason for the fifth consecutive season when they serve as a host for the 2014 NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Championships this weekend. IUP, the second seed in the Atlantic, will host seventh-seeded Chowan (NC) on Saturday. The other first round matchup will be third seed West Virginia State and six seed Slippery Rock.
 
HOW IUP GOT HERE
IUP enters the NCAAs with a 17-9 overall record, going 5-1 in the PSAC West and advancing to its fourth consecutive conference championship match. The Crimson Hawks were ranked second in the Atlantic Region throughout the spring, battling a slew of non-conference competitive teams that included Division I schools and nationally-ranked Division II and Division III teams.
 
SCOUTING THE REGION
Chowan earned the seventh seed in the region after going 23-7 overall, including a perfect 13-0 mark in the CIAA, and a conference championship. The Braves enter the NCAAs having won 10 straight and feature Natalya Kamenschchikova, is who ranked 20^th in the region by the ITA and has a 24-6 overall record.
 
Slippery Rock is the sixth seed after going 13-12 overall and 3-3 in the PSAC West, but failed to reach the conference championship tournament. SRU's top player, Nikolina Grbac, went 25-6 during the season to earn All-PSAC West first team honors and is currently the third ranked player in the region.
 
West Virginia State earned the third seed and owns a 13-5 overall record and a perfect 7-0 mark in the MEC. The Yellow Jackets won their conference tournament in the fall and has the ninth ranked player in the region in Andrea Slursavic.
 
BEST IN THE PSAC
Jr. Tanya Timko (Cannonsburg, PA/Chartiers-Houston) was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Year on Monday after boasting a perfect 6-0 record in the division and a 6-1 mark against top ranked players from the Atlantic Region. She becomes the second player from IUP 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 48-16 overall, including 22-11 mark in singles play.
 
NATIONALLY AND REGIONALLY RANKED
The Crimson Hawks have four players who are ranked by the ITA nationally or in the region in single or doubles lists. Timko leads that group, as she's the 19^th-ranked singles player in Division II and the top-ranked player in the Atlantic. She also pairs with Sr. Erika Schnaas (Mexico City, Mexico/Escuela Nacional Preparatoria ) as the No. 2 doubles team in the region. Schnaas is also ranked 16^th in the region in singles. Fr. Sophie Butland (Taunton, Somerset U.K./Bishop Fox's Community School) is ranked seventh on the Atlantic singles list and, along with So. Alanna McFail (Fort Washington, Md. /St. John's College ), is ranked 10^th among regional doubles teams.
 
UP NEXT
With a win on Saturday, the Crimson Hawks will advance to the host site championship on Sunday, where they would play the winner of the West Virginia State/Slippery Rock. Sunday's winner will be one of 16 teams in the nation to advance to the NCAA championships, which are being held in Atlamonte Springs, Fla.