IUP women's tennis extends win-streak to seven, will host Slippery Rock in PSAC West quarterfinals

IUP women’s tennis beat Clarion  9-0 Friday at the Maple Street Courts in their last regular-season matchup.

Their win over Clarion makes IUP 4-1 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West and has earned them the second seed heading into post season.

IUP had strong wins at the No. 1 and 3 spots. Sophomore Tabtip Louhabanjong won 6-1, 6-2 at one, while junior Katie Eaton 
dominated at three with a 6-1, 6-0 win in singles play.

“We played very well in the top half of the lineup,” Head Coach Larry Peterson said.

Freshmen Tanya Timko and Abby McCormick also had strong singles performances with 6-0, 6-1 and 6-2, 6-3 wins, respectively.

The Hawks went into Friday’s competition with confidence, having defeated seventh-ranked West Liberty the previous day.

“We went in definitely expecting to come out with a win,” Peterson said.

Louhabanjong and Eaton beat Clarion’s Jaclyn Metzger and Madeline Robinson 8-1 at one in their doubles match, while Timko with Emilia Osborne downed their opponents 8-3 at two. Erika Schnaas and Ranvita Mahto had an 8-1 win at three. Clarion managed only five points against the Hawks in doubles play.

Finishing their regular-season play with a record of 18-6, the Hawks feel optimistic heading into post season.

“We are a good team,” Peterson said. “We are going to have the opportunity to do well in the post season.”

IUP hosts the quarterfinals of the PSAC West Tuesday at 4 p.m. They will play third seed Slippery Rock, a team they defeated on April 3.