PSAC Tournament Central
 
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - With a spot in the conference championship match at stake, the Slippery Rock University and West Chester University women's tennis teams will meet in the semifinals of the 2023 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament 10 a.m. Saturday at the Burt Reese Tennis Center on the campus of Bloomsburg University.
 
MATCH 22 DETAILS
Opponent: West Chester University
Date: Saturday – 10 a.m.
Location: Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania – Burt Reese Tennis Center
All-Time Series: SRU leads 17-3
Last Played: April 10, 2022 (SRU won 6-1)
 
PSAC TOURNAMENT SCORING FORMAT
Under PSAC Tournament rules, doubles and singles matches shall be played in a "Clinch-Clinch" format. Doubles competition will cease when a team point is clinched. Singles matches will cease when a team has clinched the match with four total points.
 
The top three teams in the PSAC East and PSAC West standings qualified for the 2023 PSAC Tournament. The No. 2 seed in each division hosted the third seed from its respective division in quarterfinal matches Thursday. The winners from those matches have moved on to cross over and play the top seed from the other division Saturday in the PSAC Tournament semifinals.
 
In the PSAC West, Indiana University (Pa.) earned the top seed in the division followed by The Rock as the second seed and Mercyhurst as the third seed. West Chester University is the top seed out of the PSAC East with Millersville University and Bloomsburg University rounding out the top three seeds.
 
The semifinals and championship matches will be held at Bloomsburg University. The conference championship match is slated to take place Sunday.
 
QUARTERFINAL RECAP
Both PSAC Tournament quarterfinal matches saw the higher seeded team advance. In the Western Division, Slippery Rock defeated Mercyhurst, 4-3, while Millersville defeated Bloomsburg in another 4-3 decision.
 
With its win, Millersville moves on to face Indiana (Pa.) Saturday in the other semifinal match.
 
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Slippery Rock entered the PSAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed out of the PSAC West after producing a near perfect league record of 5-1 during the regular season. Following its win over Mercyhurst, Slippery Rock has now won eight of its last nine matches to push its overall record to 14-7.
 
West Chester earned a first-round bye in the PSAC Tournament after completing the regular season with a perfect 7-0 league record, and an overall mark of 9-7, to become the PSAC East regular season champions.
 
PSAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Slippery Rock has qualified for the PSAC Tournament for a fifth consecutive year. SRU has won three PSAC championships all-time with league titles coming in 1980, 1981 and 2003.
 
SRU, which is making a fourth straight trip to the PSAC Tournament semifinals, has advanced to the conference championships finals in two of the last three seasons the event has been held with its most recent trip to final match coming a year ago in a 4-1 loss to Indiana (Pa.).
 
West Chester, whose lone conference title came during the 1982 season, is back in the PSAC Tournament semifinals for a ninth straight season, but in search of its first appearance in the conference tournament championship match during the impressive decade run.  
 
ANOTHER BIG REGION MATCH
• Slippery Rock was slotted third in the most recent set of Atlantic Region rankings released Wednesday behind Indiana and Charleston. West Liberty was ranked fourth followed by West Virginia State, Fairmont State, Shaw, Mercyhurst and West Chester.
                                                                                                                     
• Conference Tournament champions from the PSAC, Mountain East Conference and Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association as well as the next four highest ranked teams in the region at the end of year qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
 
• While Slippery Rock has almost assuredly already clinched another berth into the national tournament regardless of how the weekend plays out, wins against West Chester in the semifinals and a potential league title the following day could greatly impact The Rock's potential seeding in the NCAA Tournament.
 
• For West Chester, Saturday's match is a near must-win as its likely the Golden Rams would need to beat The Rock then win PSAC Tournament championship match and earn an automatic berth to gain entry into NCAA Tournament.
 
• The NCAA will unveil the complete 48-team tournament field 8:30 p.m. April 24 on NCAA.com.
 
• SRU has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in five of the last six years that a full season has been completed.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Slippery Rock is a healthy 17-3 all-time against West Chester in a series that dates back to 1983. The two teams did not meet in the regular season as the last match between The Rock and Golden Rams came a year ago with SRU earning a 6-1 victory.
 
Saturday's match will be the first postseason contest between the two programs.
 
No active Slippery Rock athlete has lost a singles match (dual or individual tournament) in their college careers to their WCU counterparts.
 
SRU Individual Records vs. Mercyhurst (Dual + Ind. Tournament)
• Gabriela del Val del Toro: 2-0
• Adriana Gonzalez Sanchez: 2-0
• Nuria Martin Lopez: 2-0
• Teddi Isherwood: 1-0
 
SLIPPERY ROCK PRIMER
Stats: Link
Roster: Link
Overall Record: 14-7
Atlantic Region Rankings: 3rd
PSAC West Record: 5-1
PSAC West Seed: No. 2
Home Record: 5-2
Away Record: 8-3
Neutral Site Record: 1-2
Streak: W2
Last Five Matches: 4-1
Head Coach: Matt Meredith | 25th season at SRU (361-204)
 
SCOUTING THE ROCK
Last Time Out: Slippery Rock outlasted Mercyhurst for a 4-3 PSAC Tournament quarterfinal round victory Thursday at the SRU Tennis Courts (Results). 

• A major factor in The Rock's success this season has been its strong doubles lineup that from top to bottom has proven to be a tough out. SRU has won the doubles point in 16 of its 18 matches against Division II competition this year including in its PSAC Tournament win against Mercyhurst.
 
• Leading the way for SRU is the nationally ranked pairing of Teddi Isherwood and Adriana Gonzalez Sanchez, who were ranked 49th in Division II in the most recent set rankings released by the ITA. They are 12-7 overall this year and have come away victorious in nine of their last 12 outings.
 
• Nuria Martin Lopez and Gabriela del Val del Toro have posted a 20-10 overall record this season which includes a 14-5 showing in second flight matches. The veteran pair won their match against Mercyhurst.
 
• At 16-3 overall, and 15-3 from the third flight, Rock freshmen Dari Sakhanova and Tina Slovak have been virtually unbeatable in the inaugural college seasons. They enter Saturday on an eight-match winning streak.
 
• With six athletes in possession of a .500 or better winning percentage in dual matches,  Slippery Rock's singles lineup is nearly as deep as its doubles rotation.
 
• A former PSAC West Athlete of the Year honoree, Gonzalez Sanchez anchors the standard Rock lineup from the first flight. She has won seven of her last 11 matches to improve her record to 17-15 overall and 11-10 in dual matches.
 
• del Val del Toro, who recently became the 14th athlete in program history to total 100 career wins, is an impeccable 26-7 so far in 2022-23 and 17-4 out of the second flight.
 
• Sakhanova has stepped right into the heart of The Rock's singles lineup since joining the program at the semester break to post a 14-6 record in the third flight. She is on a five-match winning streak. The pressure of her first postseason match did not bother the freshman as she was one of three Rock athletes to record a singles win against Mercyhurst.
 
• Perfect in her last 10 matches, Martin Lopez joins del Val del Toro as a 20-match winner as she has gone 21-10 overall and 14-5 from the fourth flight.
 
• Slovak went a flawless 5-0 in PSAC West matches this year and is 7-2 when playing out of the fifth flight.
 
• Georgie Lancaster clinched Slippery Rock's tournament victory against Mercyhurst with a dramatic sixth-flight win. Her victory pushed her dual match record to 9-9 this season including an 8-7 mark from the sixth flight.
 
WEST CHESTER PRIMER
Stats: Link
Roster: Link
Overall Record: 9-7
Atlantic Region Rankings: 9th
PSAC East Record: 7-0
PSAC East Seed: No. 1
Home Record: 3-4
Away Record: 6-3
Streak: W1
Last Five Matches: 3-2
Head Coach: Tina Tharp | 15th season at West Chester
 
PROBABLE LINEUP (DUAL MATCH RECORD)
Singles
1-Elaina Lee (8-7)
2-Davica Massaro (7-8)
3-Tori Alexander (4-5)
4-Ana Ochoa (7-5)
5-Yuno Oe (10-5)
6-Alyssa Skulsky (9-6)
 
Doubles
1-Massaro/Ochoa (8-4)
2-Lee/Gabriella Lerario dos Santos (7-6)
3-Alexander/Skulsky (8-2)
 
UP NEXT
If Slippery Rock were to beat West Chester it would advance to the PSAC Tournament championship match 10 a.m. Sunday where SRU would face either Millersville or Indiana (Pa.).
 



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