PSAC Tournament Central
BLOOMSBURG, Pa.- After dismantling third-seed Bloomsburg in the PSAC Quarterfinals at home on Wednesday afternoon, head coach
Tina Tharp and the West Chester women's tennis team will now shift their attention to the PSAC Semifinals vs IUP on Friday afternoon inside the Burt Reese Tennis Center in Bloomsburg beginning at 2 p.m. for the right to play for a PSAC Championship on Saturday at 1 p.m.
On Wednesday afternoon, West Chester welcomed Bloomsburg to the South Campus Courts for a PSAC Quarterfinal tilt as West Chester looked to return to the PSAC Semifinals for the eighth year in a row and the ninth time in Tharp's impressive tenure at the helm. Entering the PSAC Quarterfinals with a mark of 3-2 in such matches during her tenure, the Tharp led Golden Rams wasted little time in bettering this record, improving to 4-2 in such matches with a 4-0 victory over the visiting Huskies on Wednesday.
On Wednesday afternoon, West Chester opened the match by securing the doubles point as
Davica Massaro (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) teamed claimed first doubles while
Elaina Lee (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) and
Gabriella Lerario Dos Santos (Sao Paolo Brazil, Colegia Dante Alighieri) teamed up to take the second doubles point, which clinched the first point of the match for West Chester. In singles action,
Alyssa Skulsky (Churchville, Pa./Council Rock South) was the first Golden Ram to close out her match, winning by a final of 6-1, 6-0 before Lee took her third singles matches 6-1, 6-0 as well. Massaro followed this up with a 6-4, 6-0 victory in second singles, finishing just ahead of Alexander in first singles to end the match with a 4-0 victory for the Golden Rams. When Massaro clinched her victory in the second singles spot and brought the match to its conclusion, West Chester was up a set in all three other singles matches as Alexander was ahead 6-2, 5-3 in her match while
Yuno Oe (Yokohama, Japan/Nihon University Senior High) led fourth singles 6-4, 4-1 with Lerario Dos Santos leading her fifth singles match 6-4, 2-2 at the conclusion of the Golden Ram victory.
With this victory in hand, West Chester will shift its attention to an all too familiar foe in IUP after the Crimson Hawks won the PSAC West Regular Season crown with a perfect 6-0 run through Divisional play. No strangers to one another at this juncture in the season, West Chester and IUP have squared off in the PSAC Semifinals four times dating back to the 2014-15 season with IUP emerging victorious in all four matchups. Despite the difficult history vs the Crimson Hawks in recent playoff matchups, West Chester can carry a measure of confidence into the match having won the most recent meeting with IUP during the 2018-19 season, winning by a final of 4-3. The lone returning member from that 2018-19 squad is Skulsky who teamed with
Rylee Power to win first doubles by a 7-6 (7-5) final before falling in third singles action.
For IUP, Karolin Kirchtag has been a difficult opponent throughout the season, having won 29 singles matches so far this season, including a perfect 6-0 in PSAC play. Kirchtag has also been a force to be reckoned with in doubles competition, teaming up with Katy Gradon to go 4-1 in league matches this spring after winning the PSAC Doubles Championship in October.
Should West Chester defeat IUP on Friday afternoon inside the Burt Reese Tennis Center, the Golden Rams would advance to face the winner of the Millersville (top seed in the PSAC East)/Slippery Rock (second seed in the PSAC West) matchup in the PSAC Championship on Saturday afternoon at 1 with the winner of that match receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Tournament.
