INDIANA, Pa. – The sixth-seeded IUP women's tennis team is ready for its first ever national quarterfinals appearance as the Crimson Hawks square off against third-seeded Central Oklahoma in the 2021 NCAA Division II Championships on Wednesday. The final three rounds of this year's championships will be played at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex in Surprise, Arizona. 

The Crimson Hawks enter with a 15-3 overall record, while Central Oklahoma, which plays out of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA), is 20-1. 

The quarterfinals match is set for 12 p.m. EDT. 

Follow and Information
NCAA DII W. Tennis: Home Page | Bracket
Season Statistics: IUP | Central Oklahoma
Live Results: IUPstats.com
Live Video: NCAA.com
Instagram: @iupwtennis
Twitter: @IUPtennis
 
How They Got Here
>> The Crimson Hawks won the program's third Atlantic Region title in the last five years with a 4-2 victory over regional-host Charleston last week. IUP, the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic Regional, earned a first round bye before defeating No. 3 seed Slippery Rock 4-2 in the semifinals. 
>> Central Oklahoma was the No. 1 seed and host of the Central Region Championships, advancing with a 4-0 win over NW Missouri in the semis and a 4-1 victory over Washburn in the title match. 
>> The NCAA released its top-8 seeds for the final site last Wednesday, with Central Oklahoma earning the No. 3 seed and IUP drawing the No. 6 seed. 

Projected IUP Lineup
Singles (Flight, Name, Ovr. Rec., Flight Rec.)
1. Karolin Kirchtag, 7-8, 7-7
2. Idoia Huerta, 9-8, 7-7
3. Joanna Stralka, 0-1, 0-0
4. Katy Graydon, 15-2, 1-1
5. Lydia Vlachou, 14-4, 1-0
6. Laura Dunarova, 12-3, 2-0
-. Abby Jones, 8-6

Doubles (Flight, Pairing, Ovr. Rec., Flight Rec.)
1. Huerta/Vlachou, 13-2, 13-2
2. Kirchtag/Graydon, 14-1, 14-1
3. Dunarova/Stralka, 2-0, 2-0

IUP in the NCAAs
>> IUP is making the program's first ever appearance in the national quarterfinal round of the NCAA championships. 
>> The Crimson Hawks are 20-12 all-time in the NCAA tournament. They have a 20-4 record in regional play with an 0-8 mark at the NCAA's final site, which has been the Round of 16 prior to this season.
>> With a win, IUP would face the winner of No. 2 seed Barry and No. 7 seed Franklin Pierce. 
>> IUP has advanced through the regional and to the NCAA round of 16 eight times - each year from 2011-18.
>> This is the Crimson Hawks' 13th trip to the NCAA tournament, including 10th under head coach Larry Peterson since 2010. 
>> 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.

Notes
>> This will be the first time these two programs have matched up against each other.
>> IUP heads to Arizona boasting an eight-match win streak dating back to April 13. 
>> The Crimson Hawks are ranked No. 29 in the latest ITA Division II rankings (May 6). 
>> Sophomore Joanna Stralka made her return to the lineup at regionals, pairing with junior Laura Dunarova at the No. 3 doubles spot for a pair of wins. She also played at No. 3 singles against Charleston, leading in the third set before it went unfinished due to IUP's clinching point. The 2019 PSAC singles champion, Stralka had been out since the season-opener due to injury.
>> With Stralka in the singles lineup, three players each bumped down one slot in the order. Freshman Katy Graydon had a 12-1 record at No. 3 but played No. 4 against Charleston, while freshman Lydia Vlachou (12-2 at No. 4) played at No. 5 and junior Laura Dunarova (8-3 at No. 5) got the nod at No. 6. 
>> Vlachou carries the longest singles win streak for an IUP player, winning eight straight. Seven of those came at No. 4 with the most recent at No. 5 in the regional title match win over Charleston.
>> The doubles pairing of Graydon and junior Karolin Kirchtag have won 13 straight at the No. 2 spot, a streak that started March 27 against Slippery Rock. 
>> Central Oklahoma is the third-ranked team in the ITA's Division II national poll (May 6) and head to Arizona having won 18 straight matches. 
>> The Bronchos boast the No. 5 (Adel-Byanu Abidullina) and No. 7 (Mae Canete) singles players in Division II. They also have two of the top doubles pairing in the nation - No. 2-ranked Abidullina and Isabella Dunlap, and No. 13-ranked Canete and Paola Landin. 

NCAA Notes
>> The eight teams represented at the final site of the 2021 NCAA Division II Championships are winners of the eight regional tournaments. The quarterfinals open Wednesday, with the semifinals on Thursday and the national champion will be crowned in Surprise, Arizona on Friday.
>> The pandemic has led to a format change for this season as just one team from each regional advances to the final site. In prior years, two teams from each region advanced to the final site, which started with the NCAA round of 16. 
>> A total of 36 teams earned selection to this year's national championship tournament.