UPDATE (Friday 10:30 p.m.): Due to forecasted inclement weather, Saturday's match against West Chester has been postponed. Original weekend preview is below.
INDIANA, Pa. – In its only dual action of the fall season, the IUP women's tennis team is scheduled to host PSAC crossover action with Kutztown and West Chester coming to campus this weekend. The Crimson Hawks will play Kutztown Friday at 3 p.m. and West Chester Saturday at 10 a.m. at Maple Street Courts.
IUP has played in two tournaments this fall, having enormous success with Atlantic Region and PSAC titles in singles and doubles. Kutztown lost to Jefferson in a dual to open the season and competed at the PSAC individual championships. West Chester competed in both the regional and conference championship tournaments.
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Last time out
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Karolin Kirchtag completed a rare feat, winning both the singles and doubles titles at the 2021 PSAC Individual Championships. In a tournament that started in Bloomsburg on Saturday and finished at IUP on Tuesday, Kirchtag went a combined 9-0, including five singles victories. She become just the fifth player in conference history to pull a double in the same season.
>> Kirchtag's partner was
Katy Graydon, who together won the second PSAC doubles title in program history (Petercakova/von Agris, 2016).
>> The tournament wrapped up at IUP because both finals matches included all IUP players.
Natasha Munday fell to Kirchtag in the singles final while Munday and partner
Joanna Stralka lost in doubles.
The IUP Lineup
Available singles players (Listed alphabetically, '21-22 tournament record)
Laura Dunarova, 2-1
Katy Graydon, 6-2
Idoia Huerta, 1-1
Abby Jones, 1-2
Karolin Kirchtag, 10-0
Natasha Munday, 5-2
Joanna Stralka, 2-1
Lydia Vlachou, 1-1
Available doubles pairings (Listed alphabetically, '21-22 record)
Huerta/Vlachou, 2-1
Kirchtag/Graydon, 9-0
Munday/Stralka, 6-2
Notes
>> This will be IUP's first fall dual match since 2019 due to the pandemic forcing the cancelation of half of the 2020-21 season.
>> The Crimson Hawks are 14-1 in PSAC crossovers dating back to 2010, including victories over Millersville and Shippensburg in 2019.
>> IUP is 2-0 against Kutztown since 2011, with the last win coming in the fall of 2017. The Hawks won seven straight over West Chester from fall 2012 to spring 2018, including four in the postseason. IUP lost its last meeting with the Golden Rams, 4-3 during its injury-plagued season of 2018-19.
>> IUP won the last five regular season duals of the spring season and finished 2020-21 with a 16-4 overall record - 6-0 against the PSAC West.
>> This will not be the last action of the fall for the Crimson Hawks, who will be sending players to the ITA Cup for the first time. By virtue of their regional championships,
Karolin Kirchtag earned an automatic bid to the singles bracket while her and
Katy Graydon will play in the doubles draw. Wildcard selections are still open and will be announced soon.
