Yvonne Niederbracht Wins PSAC Singles Title; Advances to Doubles Final with Jackie Kulp

Complete Singles Draw

Complete Doubles Draw

IUP junior Yvonne Niederbracht claimed the singles title at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference individual championship, knocking off Jessica Bungo in the finals.

Niederbracht, seeded second in the 23-woman field, defeated the top-seeded Bungo by a score of 6-2, 6-4 in Saturday afternoon's final.  Niederbracht had advanced to the championship match earlier in the day with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Kutztown's Kerstin Kloeffer.

After receiving a first round bye, Niederbracht won two matches on Friday.  She knocked off Shannon Rhodes of East Stroudsburg 6-0, 6-2 in the second round and handled California's Linda Escobedo 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.

Niederbracht teamed with senior Jackie Kulp to form IUP's second seeded doubles unit.  The duo enjoyed a first round bye and then bested Escobedo and Olga Gonzalez of California in an 8-1 romp in the quarterfinals.

After advancing to the finals by default, Niederbracht and Kulp were defeated by Bungo and Ashley Michaux, 8-4, in the title match.

Kulp was also entered in the singles draw, earning the eighth seed which gained her a first round bye.  Kulp then blanked Kristen Jack of Clarion 6-0, 6-0 in the second round before dropping a
6-2, 6-0 decision to Bungo in the quarterfinals.

Niederbracht, Kulp and the rest of the IUP team will return to action Friday when they begin play in the NCAA Division II East Regional tournament at Bloomsburg.

IUP will play Bryant in one semifinal match.  Should the Indians win, they will take on either Bloomsburg or Queens in the final on Saturday.  The winner of the tournament advances to the NCAA national finals May 12-15 at Altamonte Springs, Fla.