Tournament Central
 
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's tennis team opens 2024 NCAA Tournament competition 3 p.m. Friday against Millersville University at the Greensburg Racket Club in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
 
 LOCATION SWAP
Due to inclement weather this weekend, the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament will be moved indoors to the Greensburg Racquet Club in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Any further schedule/location changes for The Rock's matches will be announced on Rockathletics.com as information becomes available.

LIVE SCORING
Live results for Friday's match will be available at the below link.
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT – ROUND 1
Opponent: Millersville University
Date: Friday – 3 p.m.
Location: Greensburg Racket Club
Live Results: Link
All-Time Series: SRU leads 17-11
Last Played: May 3, 2024 (SRU won 4-0)
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT SCORING
The NCAA Tournament will run in a dual-match format with three doubles teams followed by six singles matches. The doubles matches will be played as three, six-game pro sets with a seven-point tiebreaker at six-all. Singles matches will be run as six best-of-three sets matches. Teams that win two of the three doubles matches earn a point. Each singles match earns a team one point. Teams must win four or more points to win a match.
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT STRUCTURE
The NCAA Tournament is comprised of 48 teams, 20 automatic berths and 28 at-large selections, spanning eight regions. The teams will play a single-elimination tournament at 16 preliminary round regional sites May 10-11 with the champions from each regional location advancing to Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Florida May 20-24 to determine the 2024 national champion.
 
Overall, seven teams from the Atlantic Region qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The University of Charleston and Indiana University (Pa.) garnered automatic bids, and ultimately the top two seeds in the region, after winning the Mountain East Conference and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference tournaments, respectively, while The Rock, Mercyhurst, Fairmont State and Millersville received at-large berths.
 
Shaw University, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament champions, are seeded seventh.
 
As the No. 3 seed, Slippery Rock will face sixth-seeded Millersville in the opening round 3 p.m. Friday in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. If victorious, Slippery Rock will advance to face the winner of the IUP-Shaw match in the second round on Saturday.
 
In the other Atlantic Region bracket, top-seeded Charleston will square off against the winner of the Mercyhurst-Fairmont State first round match on Friday as well.
 
SRU NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Slippery Rock will be making its 20th NCAA Tournament appearance all-time, the most of any team in the PSAC. SRU has now earned national tournament berths 15 times in the last 18 years under the direction of head coach Matt Meredith, who has been in charge of the program for 19 of The Rock's NCAA Tournament appearances overall.
 
SRU has won three regional championships (2010, 2008, 2003). The Rock's best showing in the NCAA Tournament came in 2010 when they advanced to the national quarterfinals before falling to Lynn. Overall, Slippery Rock has won 14 matches in the NCAA Tournament all-time.
 
A year ago, Slippery Rock won its first-round match via a 4-1 decision against Fairmont State before falling to IUP, 4-1, in the second round.
 
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Slippery Rock earned its tournament bid after a 2024 season in which it went 14-7 overall, but more importantly 13-5 against Division II opponents and a near perfect 5-1 in PSAC West competition while advancing to the championship match of the PSAC Tournament for a third consecutive year.
 
Millersville, which is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 17 years, enters the weekend with a 15-8 overall record. The Marauders won the PSAC East regular season title with a perfect 7-0 league record before losing to The Rock in the semifinals of the PSAC Tournament.
 
DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN
Friday's match will serve as the second contest between The Rock and Marauders in seven calendar days.
 
Slippery Rock's victory against Millersville last week marked SRU's 14th consecutive win in the series and improved its all-time record vs. MU to 16-11. The Rock have not lost to Millersville since 2005 and is currently on a run of eight consecutive shutout victories in the series.
 
LAST MEETING (Results)
For the third time in as many seasons, Slippery Rock punched its ticket to the PSAC Tournament championship match following a 4-0 semifinal victory May 4 over Millersville.
 
Slippery Rock earned the win after taking the doubles point with wins from the first and second flights by the respective pairings of Amaia Balaguer Brau / Nicole Kempton and Gabriela del Val del Toro / Nuria Martin Lopez.
 
The Rock proceeded to clinch the tournament victory following singles wins by Balaguer Brau (No. 1), Dari Sakhanova (No. 3) and Martin Lopez (No. 6).
 
BATTLE TESTED
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: 6-4
• Nuria Martin Lopez: 5-1
• Dari Sakhanova: 4-3
• Amaia Balaguer Brau*: 3-1
• Georgie Lancaster: 2-1
• Tina Slovak: 2-3
• Nicole Kempton: 0-1
• Tina Slovak / Sakhanova: 5-0
• Martin Lopez / del Val del Toro: 4-4
• Balaguer Brau / Kempton: 1-2
 
* at Saint Thomas Aquinas and SRU
 
SLIPPERY ROCK PRIMER
• Stats: Link
• Roster: Link
• Overall Record: 14-7
• Atlantic Region Seed: 3rd
• Home Record: 8-0
• Away Record: 3-3
• Neutral Site Record: 3-3
• Streak: L1
• Last Five Matches: 4-1
• Head Coach: Matt Meredith | 26th season (377-213, .637)
 
SCOUTING THE ROCK
Last Time Out: Slippery Rock lost a close match to IUP, 4-2, May 4 in the 2024 PSAC Tournament Championship match.
 
• From top to bottom, The Rock features one of the deepest rosters in the Atlantic Region.
 
• Leading The Rock is Amaia Balaguer Brau, who took over the SRU's top singles position in her first year with the program as a transfer from St. Thomas Aquinas. A three-time PSAC West Athlete of the Week honoree, Balaguer Brau has compiled an 18-9 singles record this season including a 14-5 mark in first-flight matches.
 
• Balaguer Brau, who will enter the NCAA Tournament on an eight-match winning streak, is currently ranked as the No. 74 singles athlete in all of Division II by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. No stranger to the national stage, Balaguer Brau led St. Thomas Aquinas to the NCAA Tournament a season ago prior to joining The Rock.
 
• Senior leader Gabriela del Val del Toro has capped off what's been a great collegiate career with a stellar senior campaign in 2024. Heading into Friday's match, del Val del Toro has put together a 16-9 overall record which includes an 11-6 showing from the second flight. She is already the fifth winningest athlete in program history with 139 career victories (singles + doubles).
 
• Dari Sakhanova and Tina Slovak both avoided any sort of sophomore slump by following up their strong rookie seasons with quality 2024 performances.
 
• Slovak, who like Balaguer Brau is on an eight-match winning streak, has been virtually unbeatable this year as evidenced by her 15-2 overall record and 8-1 fifth-flight tally.
 
• Sakhanova, the 2023 PSAC West Freshman of the Year, has won eight of her last nine matches to push her record to 16-10 overall and 12-6 out of the third flight.
 
• Nuria Martin Lopez, who like del Val del Toro is playing in her final collegiate season, sports a five-match winning streak which includes a flawless 4-0 record in the sixth flight. Overall she is 11-6.
 
• Nicole Kempton, the lone freshman on The Rock's roster this season, has more than proved she belongs in the veteran-laden lineup. Her inaugural collegiate season has seen Kempton go 14-7 overall and 6-4 out of the fourth flight. 
 
•The Rock's standard doubles rotation consists of Balaguer Brau / Kempton, del Val del Toro / Martin Lopez and Slovak / Sakhanova.
 
• In their first season as a team, Balaguer Brau / Kempton have occupied The Rock's top doubles position with a 12-9 record.
 
• Meanwhile, Slippery Rock's other two pairings have both teamed together multiple seasons.
 
• Friday's match will serve as the 51st time that Martin Lopez and del Val del Toro have represented SRU as a team. The senior duo have posted 33 career wins– the third-highest total by a doubles pairing in documented program history. This year they are 12-3 overall.
 
• It has taken just two seasons for Slovak and Sakhanova to rack up 29 wins as a team. They'll begin the NCAA Tournament riding a personal five-match winning streak which has bolstered their record to 11-7.
 
MILLERSVILLE PRIMER
• Stats: Link
• Roster: Link
• Overall Record: 15-8
• Atlantic Region Seed: 6th
• Home Record: 8-1
• Away Record: 6-3
• Neutral Site Record: 1-4
• Streak: L1
• Last Five Matches: 4-1
• Head Coach: Matt Helsel
 
LAST TIME OUT
Millersville had its run at a conference championship come to an end following a 4-0 loss to The Rock May 3 in the PSAC Tournament semifinals.
 
PROBABLE LINEUP (DUAL MATCH RECORD)
Singles
1-Noelle Htwar (10-9)
2-Hui Jen Soo (9-11)
3-Chloe Abramowitz (12-11)
4-Sido Rault (16-6)
5-Lauren Hayes (14-2)
6-Sophie Lanius (13-6)
Doubles
1-Htwar / Jen Soo (9-9)
2-Abramowitz / Rault (14-8)
3-Hayes / Lanius (9-3)
 
UP NEXT
If victorious against Millersville, Slippery Rock will advance to face the winner of the IUP-Shaw match in the second round 1 p.m. Saturday.




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