INDIANA, Pa. - For the second straight weekend IUP women's tennis captured a pair of tournament trophies as the Crimson Hawks swept the singles and doubles titles at the 2021 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Individual Championships. The finals of each bracket were played on IUP's Maple Street Courts on Tuesday.
Karolin Kirchtag was the bigger winner as she won the singles title and paired with
Katy Graydon for the doubles title.
With her wins last weekend, Kirchtag completed the rare feat of sweeping the singles and doubles titles of both the ITA Atlantic Region and PSAC individual championship tournaments. She becomes just the second player in conference history to achieve that, following Cal U's Lucie Sipkova in 2013.
This was also just the fifth time in conference history that a player won both the singles and doubles titles in the same season, as Kirchtag joins Mercyhurst's Saioa Gomez (2017), Sipkova (2012 and 2013), and Cal U's Annabel Pieschi (2010).
Kirchtag and Graydon become the second IUP doubles team to win a PSAC title, joining Luise von Agris and Jarka Petercakova in 2016. Kirchtag's singles title is the third in program history, including current Hawk
Joanna Stralka in 2019 and Yvonne Neiderbracht in 2004.
For the second straight week, Kirchtag and Graydon defeated teammates
Natasha Munday and Stralka in the final, winning by a score of 8-5. Munday and Stralka are 7-2 this fall with their only two losses coming to their teammates in tournament finals.
Kirchtag then met Munday in the singles final, winning by a score of 6-2, 2-6, 10-8. Again, this was the second straight final these two competed against each other as Kirchtag also won at ITAs.
Kirchtag is now a combined 19-0 this fall - 9-0 in singles play and 10-0 in doubles.
Up next
The Crimson Hawks have their only team matches of the fall next weekend in PSAC East-West Crossover. IUP will host Kutztown on Friday and West Chester on Saturday.
Kirchtag and Graydon are scheduled to compete in the Division II ITA Cup beginning Thursday, October 14 in Rome, Georgia.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's tennis on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPtennis.
