INDIANA, Pa. – The IUP women's tennis team heads to the program's fifth straight national round of 16 as they take on perennial power BYU-Hawaii in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Division II National Championships this Wednesday. The championships are being held at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Club in Surprise, Ariz.
IUP earned the trip with its victory over Mercyhurst in the Atlantic Regional Championships last weekend in Indiana. The Crimson Hawks won the home court match over the Lakers by a score of 5-1 a day after defeating Shaw 5-0 in the regional's opening round.
The Crimson Hawks were seeded second in the Atlantic and enter the NCAA championships with a 19-7 overall record. They finished as the runners-up in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament back in April and are ranked 33rd in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division II Poll.
IUP features
Tanya Timko (Cannonsburg, PA/Chartiers-Houston), the ITA Atlantic Region Senior of the Year and the PSAC West Athlete of the Year. The Crimson Hawks' top singles and doubles player, she owns a combined record of 47-18 (.723) this year, including a 2-1 singles record against nationally-ranked opponents.
Timko has appeared in each of the last two ITA National Rankings releases, coming in at No. 41 in the latest release on April 29.
Jarka Petercakova (Bratislava, Slovakia/Sport Gymnasium) is another top player for the Crimson Hawks. The sophomore earned first team All-PSAC honors and has a 17-5 record – including two wins over nationally-ranked opponents – while playing at the number two singles spot. Timko and Petercakova pair at first doubles where they have a 19-5 record this spring.
The rest of IUP's singles lineup features
Raquel Gonzalez (San Sebastian, Spain/Colegio Sagrado Corazon) – the ITA Atlantic Region Player to Watch – who is 24-12 this year, at number three;
Sophie Butland (Taunton, Somerset U.K./Bishop Fox's Community School), who is 16-9, at number four;
Luise Von Agris (Castrop-Rauxel Germany/Adalbet-Stifter-Gymnasium), who is 24-7, at number five; and
Rachel Wood (Nottingham, U.K./West Bridgrord), who is 18-9, at number six.
In addition to Timko and Petercakova at one, the Crimson Hawks' other doubles pairings are Von Agris and Wood (14-4) at two; and
Alanna McFail (Fort Washington, Md. /St. John's College ) and Butland (11-4) at three.
BYU-Hawaii is ranked third in the nation by the ITA and will enter the national championships with a 30-1 overall record. The Seasiders earned an automatic bid to the round of 16 by virtue of their number one ranking in the West Region. They feature Dallas Zhang, the top-ranked player in Division II. The two-time PacWest Player of the Year is 16-2 in singles play and teams with Karen Liu for a 20-3 doubles record.
In addition to Zhang, Liu is ranked sixth in the nation while Marietta Tuionetoa is ranked seventh. In the doubles poll, Zhang and Liu are ranked second and Tuionetta and Leah Han are ranked 22nd in the nation.
First round action is set to get underway from the Surprise, Ariz. at 2 p.m. local time (5 p.m. Eastern) on Wednesday afternoon.
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk.
