The IUP women's tennis team recorded their second straight-set sweep of the year with their first win of the spring season over West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday.
IUP Head Coach Larry Peterson was pleased with how his squad played up to the competition and sees this win as a message for conference and regional competition.
"This was the biggest match of the year so far and the girls handled it very well," Peterson said. "It's a nice win for us. We wanted to go out and be very focused and make a statement to teams around the PSAC and Atlantic region that we're going to come out ready to win those matches."
Leading the Crimson Hawks was freshman Tabtip Louhabanjong, who only gave up two games, both in the first set, in her victory over Wesleyan's Olga Demina. IUP's Ranvita Mahto only allowed three games, all coming in the second set, in her win over the Bobcats' Leana Yamamoto.
IUP sophomore Katie Eaton contributed to the sweep in the No. 1 singles spot, defeating Samantha Coral, 6-2, 6-3 while Emilia Osborne finished her match strong at No. 3 singles with a 6-3, 6-1 decision over Maisa Shigematsu.
Rounding out the singles victories for the Crimson Hawks were Kelly McBryan at No. 5 over Carolina Pinheiro, 6-1, 6-4, and Alex Ballard at No. 6 over Elizabeth Mayfield, 6-3, 6-4.
Even more impressive to Peterson was his team's improvement in doubles play since the fall season.
"We spend a lot of time this time of year working on doubles," said Peterson. "We've made it a priority at practice. It's hard to over-emphasize the importance of doubles. They're working hard and making progress."
That progress was imminent on Saturday as the three IUP doubles teams only gave up a combined six games to Wesleyan.
McBryan and Mahto teamed up for the biggest doubles victory of the day over Graffing/Yamamoto, 8-1. The other two wins for the Hawks came from Eaton/Louhabanjong, 8-3, and Osborne/Ballard, 8-2.
With the sweep over West Virginia Wesleyan, IUP improves to 5-2 overall this season.
The Crimson Hawks return to action March 7-10 when they travel to Hilton Head, S.C., where they will play four matches against Limestone, UNC Pembroke, Brevard and Ashland.
"We're very excited," Peterson said. "We'll play some very good teams down there. It's definitely a highlight of the year for everyone."
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