INDIANA, Pa. - The IUP women's tennis team is headed back to the conference finals as the Crimson Hawks defeated Slippery Rock 4-1 in the semifinal round of the 2021 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship Wednesday at the Maple Street Courts. 

IUP clinched its first berth in the PSAC championship match since winning its second straight tournament title in 2018. The 2020 tournament was canceled due to the pandemic. The Crimson Hawks will be making their ninth appearance in the finals since 2011 and go for the program's third title. 

IUP will face Millersville is Saturday's championship. The Marauders defeated PSAC East champion West Chester 4-3 in Wednesday's other semifinal.

Idoia Huerta clinched the match with her win at the No. 2 singles spot, defeating Adriana Gonzalez 6-4, 6-3. Huerta's victory put the finishing touches to a comeback that started after Slippery Rock gained early momentum by winning the doubles point. 

Lydia Vlachou picked up IUP's first singles win, 6-1, 6-0 at No. 4. Abby Jones followed at the sixth spot with a 6-2, 6-2 win and Laura Dunarova gave IUP a 3-1 lead with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 win at five. 

The match win was the sixth straight victory for the Crimson Hawks as they improved to 13-3 overall. 

IUP-Millersville
These two teams have met just four times since the 2010-11 season, with IUP winning each match in dominating fashion. They last met up during a conference crossover weekend in October 2019, with the Crimson Hawks winning 6-1. 

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