SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University women's tennis team opened the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division portion of its 2019 schedule with an impressive 4-3 victory Tuesday against Mercyhurst University.
 
The victory improves The Rock's record to 9-4 overall and 1-0 in league matches while Mercyhurst drops to 8-6 overall and 0-1 in the PSAC West.
 
Not only was Tuesday's win an important conference victory, but it will also likely prove to be huge at the end of the year for The Rock's NCAA Tournament hopes as Mercyhurst is traditionally one of the top teams in the Atlantic Region. The Lakers came into the match ranked third in the region by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association while SRU was slotted fifth.
 
Additionally, Slippery Rock's victory was its first win against Mercyhurst since the 2012 season.
 
Mercyhurst fielded a lineup of just five players, thus guaranteeing SRU wins at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles.
 
Slippery Rock trailed in both of the contested doubles matches before pulling off dramatic comebacks to earn matching 7-5 victories in both flights as Viola Lugmayr and Lois Page defeated Kayla Frost and Sangeeta Roopan to clinch the team doubles point for SRU followed by a win in the second flight by Olivia Warner and Lacey Cohen over Naomi Jahr and Athina Tsagkaraki.
 
Slippery Rock carried its 1-0 lead into the singles portion of the match and due to Mercyhurst not being able to field a sixth competitor in its lineup moved ahead 2-0 before a singles match was even completed.
 
Mercyhurst briefly cut into The Rock's lead when Frost defeated Cohen in the first flight 6-3, 6-0. However, any hopes of a Lakers comeback were promptly dashed as Lauren Fadden rallied from a 4-6 opening-set loss to produce 6-3, 6-2 wins in the fifth flight against Hannah Wenzel followed by Page sealing the overall team victory via a 6-3, 6-1 triumph against Tsagkaraki in the third flight.
 
While officially defeated in the team result, Mercyhurst did end the day with wins in the second and fourth flights. Jahr bested Warner 6-3, 6-1 at No. 4 singles while Roopan bettered Lugmayr 6-4, 6-1 in the second flight.
 
Slippery Rock will look to push its winning streak to three matches when it hosts Edinboro 4 p.m. Wednesday at the SRU Tennis Courts.




To stay up to date with all that happens at The Rock, follow our official athletic communication accounts on Twitter (@Rock_Athletics), Facebook (RockAthletics), Instagram (RockAthletics) and Snapchat (@RockAthletics).