GAME PROGRAM INFO
Slippery Rock has moved away from printed game programs for all sports in 2023-24. This page will serve as the "Digital Game Program" for this week's game. To navigate to all gameday info for any SRU home events this year, simply visit rockathletics.com/gameday or scan the QR code on the "Gameday Info" posters hanging in each facility.
 

Slippery Rock vs. Mercyhurst
The Rock (12-6)	Mercyhurst (16-5)
Roster	Roster
Schedule	Schedule
Statistics	Statistics
Coach Matt Meredith	Coach Jerome Simon
Program Records	-
PSAC Standings
PSAC Schedule
SRU Tennis Courts

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University women's tennis team begins its quest for a conference title when it hosts Mercyhurst University in the quarterfinal round of the 2024 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament 3 p.m. Monday at the SRU Tennis Courts.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
In-match results will be provided by the SRU Women's Tennis program at the below link.
 
MATCH 19 DETAILS
Opponent: Mercyhurst University
Date: Monday – 3 p.m.
Location: SRU Tennis Courts
Live Results: Link
All-Time Series: SRU leads 21-14
Last Played: April 16, 2024 (SRU won 6-1)
 
PSAC TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The top three teams in the PSAC East and PSAC West standings qualified for the 2024 PSAC Tournament. The No. 2 seed in each division will host the third seed from its respective division in quarterfinal matches this week. The winners from those matches move on to cross over and play the top seed from the other division Friday in the PSAC Tournament semifinals.
 
The semifinals and championship matches will be held at Bloomsburg University. The conference championship match is slated to take place Saturday.
 
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.
 
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. Millersville University is the top seed out of the PSAC East with West Chester University and Bloomsburg University rounding out the top three seeds.
 
PSAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Quarterfinals
#3W Mercyhurst at #2W Slippery Rock (Monday – 3 p.m.)
#3E Bloomsburg at #2E West Chester (Tuesday – 4 p.m.)
BYES: Indiana (Pa.) / Millersville
 
Semifinals
SRU/MU vs. #1E Millersville (Friday)
WCU/BU vs. #1W Indiana (Friday)
 
Finals
Saturday – Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
 
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Slippery Rock enters 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. SRU comes into the conference tournament on a hot streak as The Rock has won six consecutive matches. Slippery Rock is a perfect 4-0 in matches at the SRU Tennis Courts this year.
 
Mercyhurst concluded the regular season with a 4-2 mark in PSAC West matches to earn the third seed in the division. The Lakers have gone 4-0 with wins over Kutztown, Bloomsburg, Clarion and California since losing to SRU on April 16.
 
PSAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Slippery Rock will be making its sixth consecutive trip to the PSAC Tournament. SRU has won three PSAC championships all-time with league titles coming in 1980, 1981 and 2003.
 
SRU has advanced to the conference championships finals in three of the last four 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.).
 
Mercyhurst has won one league title all-time in 2019 when the Lakers were able to edge SRU 4-1.
 
All told, The Rock and Lakers have met in the PSAC Tournament on seven occasions with SRU coming away victorious four times.  
 
Slippery Rock vs. Mercyhurst (PSAC Tournament)
2004: Mercyhurst 5 – Rock 1
2009: Rock 5 – Mercyhurst 0
2010: Rock 5 – Mercyhurst 1
2018: Mercyhurst 5 – Rock 0
2019: Mercyhurst 4 – Rock 1
2022: Rock 4 – Mercyhurst 3
2023: Rock 4 – Mercyhurst 3
 
A LOOK AT THE ATLANTIC REGION RANKINGS
• Slippery Rock was slotted third in the most recent set of Atlantic Region rankings released last behind Charleston and Indiana (Pa). Mercyhurst was ranked fourth followed by Millersville, Frostburg State, Fairmont State, Shaw and West Virginia Wesleyan.
                                                                                                                     
• 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.
 
• The NCAA will unveil the complete 48-team tournament field 8:30 p.m. May 6 on NCAA.com.
 
• SRU has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in six of the last seven years that a full season has been completed.
 
• The full set of NCAA regional rankings can be found HERE.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Slippery Rock has won six straight matches against Mercyhurst to improve its all-time record against the Lakers to 21-14. The Rock and Mercyhurst most recently on April 16 with Slippery Rock downing Mercyhurst at home, 6-1.
 
Two of the top programs in the Atlantic Region, five of the last 10 matches in the series have occurred in the postseason (PSAC Tournament or NCAA Tournament).
 
In The Rock's regular season win over the Lakers, SRU earned the doubles point following wins from the second and third flight before closing out the win with by coming away victorious in five of the six singles flights. Full results can be found HERE.
 
SRU Career Records vs. Mercyhurst (Dual + Ind. Tournament)
• Gabriela del Val del Toro: 7-1
• Nuria Martin Lopez: 5-1
• Dari Sakhanova: 3-2
• Tina Slovak: 3-1
• Georgie Lancaster: 2-1
• Amaia Balaguer Brau: 2-2
• Nicole Kempton: 0-1
 
BATTLE TESTED
Despite only having two seniors, Slippery Rock has a wealth of postseason experience up and down its roster. Outside of freshman Nicole Kempton, every member of SRU's 2024 roster has competed in – and won – in the postseason already in their careers during either conference tournament or NCAA Tournament competition.
 
 SRU Records in the Postseason (PSAC / NCAA Tournament)
• Gabriela del Val del Toro: 6-2
• Nuria Martin Lopez: 3-1
• Dari Sakhanova: 2-2
• Georgie Lancaster: 2-1
• Amaia Balaguer Brau*: 1-1
• Tina Slovak / Sakhanova: 3-0
• Martin Lopez / del Val del Toro: 2-3
 
* at Saint Thomas Aquinas
 
ANOTHER WINNING SEASON SECURED
At 12-6, Slippery Rock is assured of finishing the year with a winning record regardless of what happens in the postseason. SRU has now finished with a .500 or better winning percentage in 22 of 26 seasons under head coach Matt Meredith.
 
SLIPPERY ROCK PRIMER
• Stats: Link
• Roster: Link
• Overall Record: 12-6
• Atlantic Region Rankings: 3rd
• PSAC West Record: 5-1
• PSAC West Seed: No. 2
• Home Record: 7-0
• Away Record: 3-3
• Neutral Site Record: 2-3
• Streak: W6
• Last Five Matches: 5-0
• Head Coach: Matt Meredith | 26th season (375-212, .637)
 
SCOUTING THE ROCK
Last Time Out: Slippery Rock finished the regular season by earning its sixth consecutive victory in a 7-0 shutout April 26 against California (Pa.).
 
• One of only two roster additions for The Rock from a season ago, Amaia Balaguer Brau has acquainted herself smoothly in SRU's lineup as the Saint Thomas Aquinas transfer has anchored Slippery Rock's singles lineup by going 16-9 overall and 12-5 in first-flight matches.
 
• Playing in her final collegiate season, Gabriela del Val del Toro is capping off her time at The Rock in fine fashion with a 16-7 overall record and a stellar 11-4 mark when playing from the second flight.
 
• Dari Sakhanova, the 2023 PSAC West Freshman of the Year, has followed up her stellar rookie campaign from a year ago by having won 10 of her 15 third flight matches this season on the way to a 14-9 overall record. After a slow start to the year, Sakhanova has won seven of her last 10 outings.
 
• With a 14-6 overall record and a 6-3 mark out of the fourth flight, Nicole Kempton is making a strong push to follow Sakhanova as this season's PSAC West Freshman of the Year.
 
• Tina Slovak is in the midst of a breakout season that has seen the sophomore compile a near flawless 13-2 overall record, including a 6-1 fifth flight showing. Slovak was the only Rock athlete to go a perfect 6-0 in PSAC West matches this year.
 
• It is impossible to quantify the importance that the return of Nuria Martin Lopez, who missed much of the season due to injury before returning on April 16, is to The Rock's postseason chances. 9-6 overall this year, Martin Lopez has posted a perfect 3-0 singles record since her return.
 
• The trio of Balaguer Brau, Slovak and Sakhanova all enter the postseason on personal six-match winning streaks with del Val del Toro close behind at five consecutive wins.
                                                                                                                                                   
• Balaguer Brau and Kempton make up The Rock's top doubles team. The first-year partners have gone 11-7 overall and 4-2 in conference matches this year.
 
• Now in their second year as a team, Slovak and Sakhanova are a healthy 9-7 in dual matches this season thanks in no small part to a perfect 5-0 PSAC West record.
 
• SRU's senior duo of del Val del Toro and Martin Lopez are 10-2 when teaming together, including a 10-1 effort out of the third flight and a perfect 4-0 conference mark.
 
MERCYHURST PRIMER
• Stats: Link
• Roster: Link
• Overall Record: 16-5
• Atlantic Region Rankings: 4th
• PSAC West Record: 4-2
• PSAC West Seed: No. 3
• Home Record: 9-1
• Away Record: 5-4
• Neutral Site Record: 2-0
• Streak: W4
• Last Five Matches: 4-1
• Head Coach: Jerome Simon
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Lakers clinched its spot in the PSAC Tournament by defeating California, 7-0, on April 27.

PROBABLE LINEUP (DUAL MATCH RECORD)
Singles
1-Kayla Dean: 18-3
2-Daria Rogova: 16-5
3-Roisin Murphy: 16-5
4-Sara Bertolez Puente: 15-5
5-Kiersten Brown: 14-6
6-Valentine Budin: 13-7
Doubles
1-Dean / Murphy: 16-5
2-Bertolez Puente / Rogova: 15-5
3-Brown / Budin: 14-6
 
UP NEXT
If victorious, Slippery Rock will meet Millersville in the PSAC Tournament semifinals Friday on the campus of Bloomsburg University.
 
Were The Rock to lose to Mercyhurst their season is likely not over as SRU would still be a strong candidate to earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.
 
 
 

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