WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. – IUP women's tennis opened the spring semester of competition on Friday night at NCAA Division I Niagara in New York, battling up and down the lineup in a 5-2 setback.
It marked the first action for IUP since the PSAC singles and doubles championships last October. The Hawks got off to an impressive start in doubles play, later hanging tough throughout much of the singles matches before falling short in the team's first dual match of the season.
IUP swept the doubles potion of the match to claim an early 1-0 lead. From there, both sides went back and forth in singles action.
Karolin Kirchtag, ranked 32nd in the ITA national rankings, put IUP back in front early with a 6-4, 6-2 at No. 1 singles.
Niagara answered back, knotting the score at two, with wins at No. 5 and No. 6 singles despite tough efforts from
Lydia Vlachou and
Laura Dunarova.
Katy Graydon was upended at No. 4 singles, 0-6, 2-6.
Natalie Kmoskova and
Joanna Stralka battled in extended three-set action at the No. 2 and No. 3 singles spots. Kmoskova opened her matchup at No. 2 singles with a 6-4 win before dropping the contest in three sets (1-6, 5-7).
Meanwhile, Stralka pushed ahead 4-3 in the third set following scores 6-4, 4-6 in a hard-fought matchup. Ultimately, Stralka fell in scores of 6-4, 4-6, 5-7.
Up Next
IUP concludes its trip to New York with a matchup at Buffalo on Saturday, February 4 at 1:30 p.m.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's tennis on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPtennis.
