Results
 
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -  The Slippery Rock University women's tennis team closed out a perfect 3-0 week by defeating West Chester University, 6-1, Sunday at the SRU Tennis Courts.
 
SRU's non-conference victory improves its record to 9-6 overall while the Golden Rams leave The Rock at 5-8.
 
Sunday served as Slippery Rock's Warrier Day celebration. Presented in honor of Parameswar "KK" Krishnakumar, a former Slippery Rock professor and supporter of women's tennis, the Warrier Family Parameswar Krishnakumar Tennis Scholarship is presented annually to a member of the SRU tennis program. This year's recipient was freshman Nicole Kempton.
 
SRU opened the match by earning the doubles point via wins out of the third and first flights.
 
The veteran duo of Nuria Martin Lopez and Gabriela del Val del Toro first defeated Sohana Thompson and Ashleigh Grooms, 6-1, before Kempton and Amaia Balaguer Brau bested Tori Alexander and Delaney Tingle in a 6-2 decision.
 
At 7-2 overall, Martin Lopez and del Val del Toro have now won five consecutive matches. Meanwhile, Balaguer Brau and Kempton are on an impressive spurt of their own with four consecutive wins which has pushed their record to 9-6.
 
While it had no effect on the overall team score, West Chester's Gabriella Lerario and Amber Nguyen were able to gain a 6-4 victory against Tina Slovak and Dari Sakhanova in the second flight.
 
Slippery Rock then promptly clinched the team victory by compiling four straight wins to begin the singles portion of Sunday's match.
 
del Val del Toro started the run by besting Alexander 6-1, 6-2 from the second flight followed by a 6-2, 6-0 win for Kempton against Yuno Oe in fourth-flight action which paved the way for Slovak to earn a 6-2, 6-0 match-clinching decision out of the fifth slot over Felicia Manful.
 
The remainder of the day saw a pair of SRU wins by Sakhanova against Grooms (6-2, 6-0) and Balaguer Brau over Tingle (7-6 (7-4), 6-4) sandwiched around a 6-4, 6-0 victory for Lerario against Georgie Lancaster which helped West Chester avoid the shutout.
 
Balaguer Brau's victory avenged a loss to Tingle in this year's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Individual Championships.
 
With six total victories (singles + doubles) this week, del Val del Toro enters the late stages of the 2024 season with 132 career wins – the sixth highest total in program history. She is five victories away from tying Jessica Hilborn (2006-10) for fifth place on the program's career wins ledger.
 
Balaguer Brau, Sakhanova, Slovak and del Val del Toro all close the week on the three match winning streaks. del Val del Toro is 14-7 on the year followed by Balaguer Brau (13-9), Kempton (12-5), Sakhanova (11-9) and Slovak (10-2).
 
Slippery Rock returns to PSAC West competition when it hosts Mercyhurst University 4 p.m. April 17 at the SRU Tennis Courts.






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