BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – IUP junior Katya Minchenkova advanced to the singles final of the 2018 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tennis Championships with a pair of victories Sunday at the Bloomsburg University Burt Reese Tennis Center.
 
Minchenkova opened the day by dispatching of No. 3 seed Jo Weisen of California (Pa.) by a score of 6-4, 7-5 in the quarterfinals. She then defeated teammate and No. 1 seed Julia Newman 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the championship match.
 
Minchenkova, who entered the championships as a 5-8 seed, will square off against another 5-8 seed in Monday's final – Lacey Cohen of Slippery Rock. She defeated Edinboro's Laura Lopez 6-4, 6-3 in her semifinal match.
 
Before Newman fell to Minchenkova, she defeated Mercyhurst's Athina Tsagkarski 6-2, 6-4 in her quarterfinal matchup. Tsagkarski defeated IUP's Mariana Valenzuela in the B flight finals of the ITA Atlantic Region Championships.
 
IUP teams did not advance past Sunday's doubles semifinals. No. 2 seed Minchenkova and Newman fell to eventual champion Kayla Frost and Sangeeta Roopan of Mercyhurst 8-1. Valenzuela and teammate Thais Andreotti lost to Cal's Weisen and Carolin Ganahi 8-4.
 
Up next
Minchenkova will be seeking IUP's first PSAC championship since Luise von Agris and Jarka Petercakova won the 2016 doubles title. Petercakova advanced to the singles finals that same year. The singles championship is scheduled for Monday at 9 a.m.
 
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