INDIANA, Pa. - The IUP women's tennis program clinched its second straight Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division regular season title with a 6-1 victory over Slippery Rock Wednesday afternoon at Maple Street Courts. It was IUP's third PSAC West crown since 2018.
The Crimson Hawks finish their division schedule with an unblemished 6-0 record and improved to 13-7 overall. It was also the Hawks' eighth straight victory.
IUP has won 15 of the last 16 matches against Slippery Rock dating back to the spring of 2011.
40th-ranked
Karolin Kirchtag tallied the match-clinching victory at the top singles spot, dispatching of Lois Page 6-4, 6-3. Kirchtag's victory was her eighth straight singles win and gave IUP a 4-0 lead in the match.
Preceding her wins in singles play were
Lydia Vlachou at No. 5 and
Laura Dunarova at No. 6, both by 6-2, 6-1 scores. Wrapping up the victory was
Katy Graydon at No. 4 with a 6-0, 7-5 win at
Joanna Stralka at No. 2 with a comeback 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 win.
The Hawks took the doubles point by grabbing two of three wins.
Natasha Munday and Stralka blanked Slippery Rock's top paring by a score of 6-0 while Kirchtag and Graydon won at the No. 2 spot by a score of 6-2.
Up next
The Hawks will play West Virginia State (11-5, 5-1 MEC) in Morgantown, W.Va. on Friday. It's a battle between the top two teams in the NCAA Atlantic Region rankings with IUP at No. 1 and WV State at No. 2.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's tennis on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPtennis.
