BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – IUP women's tennis capped a dominant showing at the ITA Atlantic Region Tournament by sending three entries to the ITA Nationals in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, highlighted by Asel Calbay and Chia Ying Lu capturing the Atlantic Region doubles championship.
Calbay and Lu, the No. 4-seeded pairing in the doubles draw, secured the regional championship with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over IUP teammates and No. 7 seeds Ifigeneia Kafka and Charliz Tabili in an all-Crimson Hawk final.
Both IUP doubles pairings earned spots at the ITA Nationals, giving the Crimson Hawks four representatives in the national doubles field.
IUP entered the doubles semifinals with three of the four teams remaining. Kafka and Tabili advanced to the championship match with an 8-2 victory over teammates Elina Mondani and Hannah Beitat.
Calbay and Lu secured the other spot in the final with an 8-7 (11) victory over No. 2 seeds Nicole Kempton and Nadia Rodewald, guaranteeing an all-IUP regional championship match.
The Crimson Hawks were equally impressive in singles, accounting for three of the four semifinalists and five of the eight quarterfinalists.
Kafka put together IUP's deepest singles run, advancing to the Atlantic Region championship match. The No. 12 seed defeated teammate and top-seeded Lea Von Kozierowski in the semifinals before falling to No. 4 seed Pimlaphat Lim in the regional final.
Kafka's runner-up finish earned her a spot in the national singles field, giving the Crimson Hawks representation in both singles and doubles at the ITA Nationals.
Calbay added a singles semifinal appearance to her doubles championship. The No. 2 seed defeated Lia-Sophie Seele in three sets, 3-6, 7-5, 10-6, in the Round of 32 before topping Arina Kryvenkova, 6-4, 6-0, and Lauren Hayes, 6-1, 6-0, to reach the semifinals.
Von Kozierowski also reached the singles semifinals after a dominant run through the bracket. The top seed defeated Galia Mezouar, 6-3, 6-1, Vitoria Maximiliano, 6-4, 6-1, and No. 6 seed Michelle Connor, 6-1, 6-3, on her way to the final four.
Lu and Tabili gave IUP five of the eight singles quarterfinalists. Lu reached the round after a 6-0, 6-2 upset of No. 7 seed Jingyi Liu, while Tabili advanced with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Ana Musulin before falling to eventual champion Lim in three sets.
IUP finished the regional tournament with six of the eight semifinal spots across the singles and doubles draws. Calbay finished as a doubles regional champion and singles semifinalist, while Kafka finished as the regional runner-up in both singles and doubles.
IUP will now send Kafka to compete in singles along with the doubles pairings of Calbay and Lu and Kafka and Tabili to the ITA Nationals in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
