GREENSBURG, Pa. – For the second straight year, the IUP women's tennis team sits atop the region as the Crimson Hawks defeated Charleston 5-2 to claim the 2018 NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Championship Sunday afternoon at the Greensburg Racquet Club.
 
With the win, IUP advances to its eighth straight NCAA Division II Championships. The Crimson Hawks will travel to Surprise, Arizona next week to open up first round play Wednesday, May 9 against an opponent yet to be named.
 
RESULTS

The Crimson Hawks (20-5) entered the Atlantic Region Championships as the top overall seed for the second straight year, earning a first round bye before matching up with Charleston. The Golden Eagles (18-7) were the No. 4 seed and defeated No. 5 seed Slippery Rock 5-3 in Saturday's first round.
 
IUP also improved to 19-4 all-time in regional tournament play dating back to 2002, winning its 14th straight match since 2011.
 
It was also the eighth straight win for the Crimson Hawks, their longest win streak of this season.
 
Valenzuela clinches win
With the Crimson Hawks' third singles win of the match, Mariana Valenzuela (Bogotá, Colombia/George Berkeley School) clinched the title. She defeated UC's Alize Uyttenhove 6-3, 6-2 at sixth spot.
 
Other singles wins for IUP included Jarka Petercakova (Bratislava, Slovakia/Sport Gymnasium) at one (6-0, 6-3) and Nicole Beidacki (Porto Alegre, Brazil/Colegio Sao Judas Tadeu) at four (6-0, 6-2).
 
The Crimson Hawks went up 2-0 in the match with a pair of doubles wins. Petercakova and Luise von Agris (Castrop-Rauxel, Germany/Adalbet-Stifter-Gymnasium) defeated Katie Swann and Elise Edwards 8-3 at one, and Valenzuela and Julia Newman (Tauranga, New Zealand/Tauranga Girls' College) defeated Bridget Dillon and Uyttenhove 8-2 at three.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's tennis on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPtennis.