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GREENSBURG, Pa. — The IUP women’s tennis team secured its seventh NCAA Atlantic Regional pod championship Saturday, defeating No. 3 seed Charleston in a tightly contested matchup to advance to the NCAA Division II Sweet 16.<\/p>\n
The Crimson Hawks claimed the doubles point by winning two of the three matches. IUP cruised at No. 3 doubles and edged out Charleston at No. 2 doubles, where an out call on the final point sealed the match and the doubles advantage for the Crimson Hawks.<\/p>\n
In singles play, IUP won the opening set in all but one match, though Charleston battled back to make the second sets competitive across the board.<\/p>\n
The most decisive singles victories came from Asel Calbay<\/a> at No. 2 and Ifigeneia Kafka<\/a> at No. 5. Calbay earned a 6-4, 6-3 win, while Kafka rolled to a 6-4, 6-1 victory.<\/p>\n The clinching point came at No. 3 singles in a marathon match that lasted more than 1 hour, 35 minutes and finished in a tiebreak.<\/p>\n