Women’s tennis has successful spring break

A spring break trip to the beach in South Carolina may seem like the highlight of spring break for the IUP women's tennis team, but walking away from a tournament 4-0 isn't bad, either.

That's exactly what the Crimson Hawks did March 7-11 when they decisively defeated four opponents on the sandy shores of Hilton Head, SC.

"I was a little surprised," IUP Head Coach Larry Peterson said. "But it was nice to see them stepping up and getting it done on the court."

The series of wins for the Hawks boosts not only their record to 9-2, but also their confidence to newfound heights.

"It makes it seem like the sky's the limit and we can achieve what we want to achieve," said IUP sophomore Katie Eaton. "We never would've thought we would've won against these teams last year. We're very confident about the matches we're going into this semester."

Eaton was tabbed as the PSAC West Tennis Athlete of the Week, going 8-0 between singles and doubles over the trip.

"It's really nice," Eaton said. "I was a bit surprised by it. It wasn't just me who earned the award, though; it was all my teammates who helped me out."

Included in Eaton's wins in South Carolina was a three-set victory of Brevard's Lindsay Shaeffer, 6-2, 1-6, 10-7.

Also standing out in that Brevard match was freshman Ranvita Mahto, who pulled out a 6-2, 6-7, 10-7 victory over Michelle Prata.

"[Mahto] is doing a great job in developing her confidence," Peterson said. "She has a very strong game. It was really nice to see her pull out a close match like that and win some big points."

The matchup against Brevard proved to be the toughest for the Hawks but they were able to pull together a 6-3 victory.

"Brevard is a very strong team," Peterson said. "We thought going into it that it was going to be a battle. The girls were ready, stepped up to the challenge and outplayed them."

IUP started their competition by sweeping Limestone, 9-0, a match in which the Hawks dropped only seven total games as a team.

Mahto, Tabtip Louhabanjong, Emilia Osborne and Alex Ballard all recorded straight-set sweeps of opponents. Emilia Osborne/Ballard and Mahto/Kelly McBryan both swept in doubles, 8-0.

UNC-Pembroke was the second team to fall to IUP last week as the Crimson Hawks avenged a 5-4 loss from last season's spring trip.

"They beat us last year," Peterson said. "But we dominated them. It was a nice turnaround for us."

The Lady Hawks also took down PSAC East foe Millersville at the end of the trip, sweeping the Marauders 9-0.

Sophomore Osborne defeated Millersville's Kaeley McCabe, 6-0, 6-0, to remain undefeated in both singles and doubles play over the trip.

"[Osborne] has progressed a lot in terms of her mental toughness," said Peterson. "It's a big step forward for her. She's got the game, and now she's getting the mental toughness to go along with it."

IUP now has won five straight since dropping their spring season opener to St. Bonaventure on Feb. 18.

"They just believe that we're a good team and they're starting to have the belief we need to do well in these matches," Peterson said. "That comes with preparation and getting a few good wins under their belt."

The Crimson Hawks return to action on Sunday when they travel to Ashland for a make-up game that was rained out during the spring trip.