From IUP Athletics:
For the third time since 2017 the IUP women’s tennis team has been named the top seed and host in the Atlantic Region as the 2022 NCAA Division II Championship field was announced Tuesday night. The Crimson Hawks won their second straight Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament championship Saturday witha 4-1 win over Slippery Rock at Bloomsburg University. They’ll go into the NCAA tournament with 12 straight wins and a 17-7 overall record. The NCAA Division II Championship is made up of 48 teams, including 21 automatic qualifiers and 27 at-large selections. Preliminary-rounds will be played May 6-7 at 16 regional sites. The winning team from each site will advance to the finals, May 17-21, in Altamonte Springs, Florida. Rollins College and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission will serve as hosts.Seven teams from the Atlantic Region were selected for the NCAA tournament, with the Hawks receiving a first round bye as the No. 1 seed. IUP will host the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds – Slippery Rock and West Liberty – on Friday, May 6, and then play the winner the following day. This is the 11th NCAA tournament berth in the last 13 seasons for the Crimson Hawks, who made nine straight appearances from 2010-18. IUP earned the automatic berth after being awarded the PSAC championship for the fourth time in the last six seasons.
LACROSSE
From IUP Athletics:
Mercyhurst’s Maggie Newton scored the game-winning goal with 5.5 seconds left as the IUP women’s lacrosse team dropped a heartbreaker to the Lakers in the quarterfinals of the 2022 PSAC Championship on Tuesday night at Saxon Stadium. The late goal by the Lakers ruined a second half comeback by the Crimson Hawks, as they outsored Mercyhurst 4-1 over a 10:35 time span in the fourth quarter. The run included back-to-back goals by Sarah Reustle, both on free position attempts, the latter of which gave IUP a 7-6 lead with 3:12 to play. Less than a minute after Reustle’s go-ahead goal, the Lakers tied the score at 7-7. They would collect the ensuing draw control but a caused turnover and ground ball pickup by Reustle put the ball back in IUP’s sticks with 1:40 to play. After the clear, IUP called a timeout and with under a minute to play drew a free position attempt. The shot by Emme Mass was saved, but Jordan Kulp intercepted Mercyhurst’s clearing pass and after a few quick steps had a wide-open look at the net. However, her shot came while she was falling down and the ball unluckily hit the post, giving the Lakers the ball back with under 30 seconds left. Mercyhurst called a timeout and after a few passes Newton was able to get a good look at the net and scored in the bottom left corner to secure the late victory.Who stood outSarah Reustle: 3 goals, 7 draw controls, 3 ground balls, 1 caused turnoverKatie Hibinger: 2 goalsAshley Andrikanich: 12 saves 4 ground ballsUp nextThe Hawks will now await word from the NCAA Selection Committee on if they are selected to the 16-team Division II tournament field. The NCAA Selection Show is Sunday, May 8 at 8:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.
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