Doubles Draws  |  Singles Draw
 
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Seven members of the Slippery Rock University women's tennis team will compete for regional supremacy when they take part in the 2024 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Atlantic Region championships this weekend at the Burt Reese Tennis Center on the campus of Bloomsburg University.
 
The ITA Atlantic Region championships consist of two draws: a Championship Singles tournament and a Championship Doubles tournament. SRU will have three entries into the 32-team doubles field and seven members of the roster taking part in the 64-athlete singles draw.
 
The winners of the singles and doubles tournaments move on to compete in the prestigious ITA Cup Oct. 10-13 in Rome, Georgia.
 
This weekend's matches serve as the third individual competition of the season for The Rock.  Members of the team previously competed at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational and the Husky Invitational.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Live results from this weekend's matches will be posted HERE.
 
THE SCHEDULE
Friday (9 a.m. start)
Doubles First Round
Doubles Round of 16
Singles First Round
 
Saturday (9 a.m. start)
Doubles Quarterfinals
Singles Round of 32
Singles Round of 16
 
Sunday (10 a.m. start)
Doubles Semifinals
Singles Quarterfinals
Singles Semifinals
 
Monday (10 a.m. start)
Doubles Finals
Singles Finals

SINGLES PREVIEW
Four of The Rock's seven entries are seeded led by Amaia Balaguer Brau, who will enter the weekend as the top seed in the singles bracket. Other seeded selections from Slippery Rock include No. 8 Nicole Kempton, No. 10 Alissia Kivi and No. 14 Dari Sakhanova.
 
Balaguer Brau begins her championship quest against West Chester's Alexandra Cave in the opening round followed by a potential match against either Veronica Sirci (IUP) or Lauren Ceballos (Frostburg State) in the Round of 32. Balaguer Brau, who is 2-1 in singles matches this season, is the reigning Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division Athlete of the Year. She made the semifinals of last year's regional bracket.
 
Kempton opens tournament play against fellow PSAC West foe Leandra Guldimann of California (Pa.). Fresh off being named the PSAC West Freshman of the Year a season ago, Kempton has started her sophomore campaign by taking three of her first four singles matches. If successful against Guldimann, she would play the winner of the Isabelle Oikawa Torres (IUP) vs. Nicole Ilkovic (Bloomsburg) first round bout in the Round of 32.
 
Kivi, a freshman newcomer who has enjoyed a promising start to her collegiate career with a 3-1 record early in the season, will look to further establish herself as a regional force against Edinboro's Cecilia Carayol. A potential Round of 32 match against veterans Gabriella Lerario dos Santos (West Chester) or Dasha Nakonechna (Bloomsburg) awaits SRU's freshman if she gets by Carayol.
 
Sakhanova, The Rock's last seeded entry, continues her junior season against West Virginia State's Amanda Menendez Thomasson. Sakhanova will be looking to avenge a tight three-set loss to Thomasson from 2023. A former All-PSAC West honoree, Sakhanova is a near perfect 3-1 in limited singles competition this year.
 
An interesting potential second-round match is in play for Sakhanova, who could meet former teammate Teddi Isherwood – now of California (Pa.) - if both advance out of the Round of 64. The pair were teammates at The Rock in 2022-23 when Sakhanova was a rookie, and eventual PSAC West Freshman of the Year.
 
SRU's unseeded singles competitors consist of Georgie Lancaster, Tina Slovak and Marika Kempinski.
 
Lancaster, who has evenly split her first four singles matches this year, will meet Maria Salome Molina of Salem while Slovak faces fifth-seeded Lieselotte Hartlohner (IUP) with Kempinski drawing Charleston's Michelle Connor.

DOUBLES PREVIEW
Highlighting The Rock's three doubles pairings that were accepted into this year's ITA Atlantic Region championships are the third-seeded team of Kempton and Kivi.
 
It should come of no surprise that Kempton and Kivi have such a lofty seed, the duo has compiled an impressive 6-1 record already in their first year as a team. They will square off against Davis & Elkins' Fabienne Lahn / Erin Laubscher. A potential rematch from the Husky Invitational against Bloomsburg's Alexis Quackenbush / Jennifer McDonald – a contest SRU's pair won – awaits in the Round of 16.
 
Rock veterans Balaguer Brau and Lancaster head to Bloomsburg as the tournament's eighth seeded team, setting up a first-round tilt with West Virginia Wesleyan's Dominique Van Vuuren and Sneha Sundaraneedi. After not partnering for single match a year ago, Lancaster and Balaguer Brau have come together to go 2-2 in 2024-25.
 
Rounding out The Rock's doubles teams this weekend is the highly successful pairing of Slovak and Sakhanova. A constant in SRU's dual match doubles lineup, Slovak and Sakhanova have produced a stellar 33-14 (.702) record over their careers as partners. They'll play Lauren Ceballos / Alyssa Kush of Frostburg State, who Slovak and Sakhanova beat 6-3 last season.
 
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock returns to Bloomsburg to conclude the individual portion of its 2024-25 schedule Oct. 5-6 at the Fall Flighted Championships.
 
SRU FIRST ROUND SCHEDULE
SINGLES
No. 1 Amaia Balaguer Brau vs. Alexandra Cave (West Chester)
No. 8 Nicole Kempton vs. Leandra Guldimann (California)
No. 10 Alissia Kivi vs. Cecilia Carayol (Edinboro)
No. 14 Dari Sakhanova vs. Amanda Menendez Thomasson (West Virginia State)
Marika Kempinski vs. Michelle Connor (Charleston)
Tina Slovak vs. No. 5 Lieselotte Hartlohner (Indiana (Pa.)
Georgie Lancaster vs. Maria Salome Molina (Salem)
 
DOUBLES
No. 3 Kivi / Kempton vs. Fabienne Lahn / Erin Laubscher (Davis & Elkins)
No. 8 Balaguer Brau / Lancaster vs. Dominique Van Vuuren / Sneha Sundaraneedi (Wesleyan)
Slovak / Sakhanova vs. Lauren Ceballos / Alyssa Kush (Frostburg State)





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