INDIANA, Pa. – 35th-ranked IUP women's tennis began postseason preparations on Wednesday with a 9-0 win over visiting West Virginia Wesleyan at the Maple Street Courts.
The top-ranked team in the Atlantic Region according to the ITA, the Crimson Hawks improved to 15-5 overall, while ninth-ranked Wesleyan fell to 11-7.
BOX SCORE
Doubles competition was over quickly, as IUP posted three 8-0 victories. It was the ninth win in the last 10 matches for the 16th-ranked team of
Jarka Petercakova (Bratislava, Slovakia/Sport Gymnasium) and
Luise von Agris (Castrop-Rauxel, Germany/Adalbet-Stifter-Gymnasium), including wins in each of the last four.
Singles play also went swiftly, with IUP players taking down a pair of regionally-ranked athletes from Wesleyan. Petercakova defeated Paul Pimenta 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 1 spot while von Agris won 6-1, 6-0 over Rebekka Heigermoser at No. 2. Pimenta is ranked 18th in the Atlantic while Heigermoser is ranked 10th.
Other singles winners included
Raquel Gonzalez (San Sebastian, Spain/Colegio Sagrado Corazon) by default at No. 3;
Katya Minchenkova (Mytishchi, Russia/Secondary School No.12) 6-2, 6-1 at No. 4;
Rachel Wood (Nottingham, U.K./West Bridgrord) 4-6, 6-2, 12-10 at No. 5; and
Sophie Butland (Taunton, Somerset, U.K./Bishop Fox's Community School) 6-1, 6-2 at No. 6.
NCAA regional rankings released
The NCAA released its newest Division II regional rankings on Wednesday, which is the official set of rankings that determines postseason berths.
NCAA.com | Division II Women's Tennis Regional Rankings
IUP is ranked No. 2 in the Atlantic Region, trailing No. 1 Mercyhurst. The Crimson Hawks own an 8-1 in-region record this year, with their only loss coming to Mercyhurst (9-0).
Charleston (15-3) is ranked third, with West Virginia State (12-3) ranked fourth, Edinboro (9-2) fifth, Chowan (14-3) sixth, and West Chester (10-2) seventh. The top seven teams in the Atlantic Region earn bids to the NCAA championships.
Up next
The Crimson Hawks host West Virginia State on Friday at the Maple Street Courts. It'll be Senior Day for IUP, with a match time set for 3:30 p.m.
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's tennis on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @iuptennis.
