INDIANA, Pa. – The 29th-ranked IUP women's tennis team makes it return to the Division II postseason as they open play in the 2021 NCAA Division II Championships Tuesday at the University of Charleston in West Virginia. 

The Crimson Hawks are the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic Region and will square off against No. 3 seed Slippery Rock in Tuesday's semifinals. Match time is slated for 2 p.m.

Follow and Information
Host Tournament Page: UCGoldenEagles.com
Regional Brackets: NCAA.com
Instagram: @iupwtennis
Twitter: @IUPtennis
 
How They Got Here
>> The Crimson Hawks were awarded the 2021 PSAC title, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Boasting a 13-3 overall record and 11-1 mark against top-10 regional teams, IUP was named the No. 2 team in the five-team Atlantic Region tournament.
>> Slippery Rock advanced to the PSAC tournament semifinals before falling to IUP 4-1 in Indiana. The Rock enters the NCAAs with an 8-6 overall record. 

The IUP Lineup
Singles (Flight, Name, Flight Record)
1. Karolin Kirchtag, 7-6
2. Idoia Huerta, 7-6
3. Joanna Stralka, 0-0
4. Katy Graydon, 11-1
5. Lydia Vlachou, 11-2
6. Laura Dunarova, 7-3
-. Abby Jones, 5-4

Doubles (Flight, Pairing, Flight Record)
1. Huerta/Vlachou, 13-2
2. Kirchtag/Graydon, 12-1
3. Dunarova/Stralka, 0-0

IUP in the NCAAs
>> IUP is making the program's 13th all-time NCAA tournament appearance, including 10 under head coach Larry Peterson.
>> The Crimson Hawks earned selection to nine straight tournaments from 2010-18 before missing out in 2019. The 2020 postseason was canceled due to the pandemic.
>> IUP won its regional as the No. 1 seed and host team in back-to-back seasons of 2017 and 2018.
>> IUP has advanced through the regional and to the NCAA round of 16 eight times - each year from 2011-18 - but has never made it to the quarterfinals. 

NCAA Notes
>> IUP is one of 36 teams to earn selection to the 2021 NCAA Division II Championships. 
>> Those 36 teams are split up among eight regional sites, with the winning team from each site advancing to the finals at Surprise, Arizona on May 19-21. The Pacific West Conference and the City of Surprise will serve as hosts. 
>> The pandemic has led to a format change for this season as just one team from each regional advances to the final site. 

Notes
>> This will be the third meeting of the season between IUP and Slippery Rock, with the Crimson Hawks winning the first two contests by scores of 4-3 (March 27) and 4-1 (PSAC semifinals).
>> IUP is 13-1 against Slippery Rock over the last decade, including an 11-match win streak from 2011-18. 
>> Slippery Rock enters the postseason as the No. 40 team in the ITA Division II rankings. SRU also has the nation's 21st-ranked doubles team in Lois Page and Adrianna Gonzalez Sanchez. Gonzalez Sanchez was named the PSAC West Women's Tennis Athlete of the Year. 
>> With a win, IUP would face either the No. 1 seed Charleston or No. 4 seed West Virginia State, which square off in Monday's other semifinal. 
>> The Hawks lost to Charleston 4-3 on April 10 and defeated West Virginia State 4-3 on April 3. 

IUP's PSAC honors
>> Four Crimson Hawks earned All-PSAC West honors as the league announced its postseason awards Friday.
>> First team singles honorees included Karolin Kirchtag and Katy Graydon, while Idoia Huerta was a second team selection.
>> The doubles pairings of Huerta and Lydia Vlachou and Kirchtag and Graydon were both first team selections.