INDIANA, Pa. – The IUP women's tennis team is set to take on West Chester in the semifinals of the 2015 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships on Friday at Bloomsburg University.
The Crimson Hawks, the second seed from the PSAC West, reached the conference semifinals for the fifth consecutive year with a 5-0 shutout win over third-seeded Mercyhurst in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. IUP is 16-6 on the season and finished regular season divisional play with a 5-1 record.
West Chester earned a bye to open up the tournament after winning the PSAC East title with a perfect 6-0 division record. The Golden Rams wrapped up the regular season with an 11-6 mark.
Headlining for the Crimson Hawks is
Tanya Timko (Cannonsburg, PA/Chartiers-Houston), IUP's top singles. Last year's PSAC West Athlete of the Year, Timko is owns a 22-9 singles record, including a 15-6 record this spring and a 5-1 mark in divisional play. The senior has two wins over nationally-ranked opponents and enters this weekend ranked second in the Atlantic Region.
Timko owns both the singles (88) and combined wins (186) marks at IUP and is just two doubles wins away from tying the program mark of 102.
Jarka Petercakova (Bratislava, Slovakia/Sport Gymnasium) will play at second singles for IUP, owning a 16-5 overall record after joining the Crimson Hawks at the beginning of the spring. The sophomore went 6-0 in divisional play and 10-4 at the second spot, including a pair of wins of nationally-ranked opponents. Petercakova recently moved up to No. 5 in the latest ITA Atlantic Region rankings.
At the third spot,
Raquel Gonzalez (San Sebastian, Spain/Colegio Sagrado Corazon) will go for the Crimson Hawks, boasting a 10-2 record there this spring. She has a team-high 24 singles wins on the year and is ranked 12th in the region.
Sophie Butland (Taunton, Somerset U.K./Bishop Fox's Community School) gets the nod at four, having a 10-3 record there this spring along with a 5-0 mark in divisional play.
Luise Von Agris (Castrop-Rauxel Germany/Adalbet-Stifter-Gymnasium) is 10-1 at the fifth spot, where she is slotted this weekend, and is also undefeated at 5-0 in the conference. Both are ranked in the region, sitting at No. 13 and No. 17, respectively.
Rachel Wood (Nottingham, U.K./West Bridgrord) will play at six for IUP, holding a 7-3 record there, including 3-1 in the conference.
In doubles play, Timko and Petercakova will go at one, where the duo is 16-4 this spring. Von Agris and Wood (11-3) will team up at two and Butland and
Alanna McFail (Fort Washington, Md. /St. John's College ) (9-3) will play at three. The Timko/Petercakova team is ranked second in the region while Von Agris/Wood are ranked sixth.
IUP has advanced to the PSAC championship in each of the past four years, getting semifinal wins of 5-0 over Bloomsburg (2014), 5-0 over Kuztown (2013), 5-0 over Bloomsburg (2012), and 5-1 over Bloomsburg (2011).
If the Crimson Hawks are victorious, their likely opponent in the PSAC championship match will be California (Pa.), which has won eight straight league titles (2007-14).
Friday's semifinal match will be at 12 p.m. in Bloomsburg. The women's championship is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday.
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk.
