Final ITA Regional Rankings
 
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University women's tennis team was slotted third in the Atlantic Region by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) in the organization's year-end rankings while five members of the program appeared in the region's final individual rankings.
 
Slippery Rock concluded the 2023-24 season with a 15-8 overall record. SRU advanced to the finals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament for a third consecutive year before earning an NCAA Tournament bid where The Rock won their first-round contest before losing in the Round of 32.
 
Only Atlantic Region champion Charleston and PSAC Tournament winners Indiana (Pa.) were ranked higher in the region than The Rock.
 
Leading the way for SRU's in the ITA's individual rankings was Amaia Balaguer Brau, who closes the year second in the Atlantic Region singles rankings and just outside of the national rankings.
 
Balaguer Brau competed out of The Rock's top singles flight on the way to posting a 19-9 overall record which included a 15-6 mark in dual matches and a 5-1 showing inside the PSAC West. Balaguer Brau, who was in the national singles rankings for much of the year, had her stellar season rewarded when she was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Year as well the ITA's Atlantic Region Player to Watch for 2024.
 
Joining Balaguer Brau in the final Atlantic Region top-20 singles rankings were No. 7 Gabriela del Val del Toro, No. 13 Nicole Kempton and No. 14 Dari Sakhanova.
 
del Val del Toro finished a standout collegiate career at The Rock with another great senior season in which she posted a 17-9 overall singles record that included a 12-6 mark in second the flight of dual matches and a 4-1 showing in conference competition on the way to earning first team All-PSAC West honors.
 
Kempton, who was voted the PSAC West Freshman of the Year in addition to earning second team All-PSAC West singles accolades. As her honors would indicate, Kempton had a standout rookie campaign by posting a 15-7 overall record. Included in the 15 victories was a 13-6 showing in dual matches throughout the middle of SRU's singles rotation and a near perfect 4-1 record in conference play.
 
Sakhanova followed up a rookie season in which she was named the 2023 PSAC West Freshman of the Year with a sophomore campaign that resulted in a 16-11 overall record and a near perfect 5-1 mark in league matches. Sakhanova, who won eight of her last 10 matches of 2024, was 12-6 in third-flight competition.
 
Slippery Rock also placed two of its three primary doubles teams in the final rankings. Balaguer Brau and Kempton were positioned third in the Atlantic Region while del Val del Toro and Nuria Martin Lopez finished sixth.
 
Balaguer Brau and Kempton, The Rock's only two newcomers to the 2024 roster, joined forces to occupy SRU's top doubles flight. A first team All-PSAC West pairing, Balaguer Brau and Kempton partnered to produce a 12-9 overall record and a 4-2 tally against Slippery Rock's divisional rivals.
 
The senior duo of Martin Lopez and del Val del Toro were a dominant 13-4 in their final year representing Slippery Rock. In addition to going 4-0 in PSAC West matches, they were 10-1 overall out of the third flight. 
 
One of the premier programs in the Atlantic Region, Slippery Rock has now made 20 NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and 19 trips to the national tournament under head coach Matt Meredith. SRU has won at least one NCAA Tournament match in each of the last three years.
 
SRU FINAL ITA RANKINGS
Atlantic Region Team
No. 3: Slippery Rock
 
Atlantic Region Singles
No. 2: Amaia Balaguer Brau
No. 7: Gabriela del Val del Toro
No. 13: Nicole Kempton
No. 14: Dari Sakhanova
 
Atlantic Region Doubles
No. 3: Balaguer Brau / Kempton
No. 6: del Val del Toro / Nuria Martin Lopez



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