SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University women's tennis team will open the spring portion of its 2024-25 season with a non-conference match 5 p.m. Saturday against Division I Youngstown State University at the YSU Indoor Tennis Center.
 
A PROGRAM OF CONSISTENT EXCELLENCE
Few women's tennis programs have been as consistent as Slippery Rock has under head coach Matt Meredith. Dating back to the 2000-01 season, SRU has won 65.1 percent of its matches (360-193), had 21 winning seasons while making 17 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament appearances and earning 19 NCAA Tournament bids.
 
SRU has made the finals of the PSAC Tournament in three consecutive years and has missed out on the NCAA Tournament just once in the last nine seasons. 
 
MATCH 1 DETAILS
Opponent: Youngstown State University
Date: Saturday – 5 p.m.
Location: YSU Indoor Tennis Center – Youngstown, Ohio
Live Results: Link
All-Time Series: SRU leads 2-0
Last Played: Oct. 1, 1996 (SRU won 7-0)
 
SERIES HISTORY
Slippery Rock holds a 2-0 all-time record against Youngstown State. The Rock and Penguins first met during the 1995-96 season with SRU claiming a 6-1 road victory followed a year later with a 7-0 shutout at home during the 1996-97 campaign.
 
ABOUT LAST YEAR
As it enters the team portion of its 2024-25 season, Slippery Rock is coming off another stellar showing a year ago in which it went 15-8 overall and 5-1 in the PSAC Western Division.
 
SRU closed the regular season on a six-match winning streak prior to advancing to the finals of the PSAC Tournament where it lost a tight 4-2 decision to nationally ranked Indiana University (Pa.).
 
On the heels of their impressive conference tournament run, The Rock earned the third seed out of the Atlantic Region for the NCAA Tournament and promptly beat Millersville in opening-round play before again coming up on the wrong side of a 4-2 result against IUP in the Round of 32.
 
WHO'S BACK
While Slippery Rock will be tasked with replacing two highly-decorated athletes in Gabriela del Val del Toro and Nuria Martin Lopez – a duo that combined to amass 135 singles victories and 97 doubles wins prior to exhausting their eligibility – the roster is hardly void of serious talent.
 
SRU brings back 2024 PSAC West Athlete of the Year, and one of the top athletes in all of Division II, Amaia Balaguer Brau, former All-PSAC West performer Dari Sakhanova, 2024 PSAC West Freshman of the Year Nicole Kempton as well as veterans Tina Slovak and Georgie Lancaster.
 
WELCOME TO THE ROCK
Head coach Matt Meredith brought in three freshmen to this year's roster in Jane Coulter (Grove City, Pa.), Marika Kempinski (Bayreuth, Germany) and Alissia Kivi (Harjumaa, Estonia). All three rookies officially began their collegiate careers in the fall.
 
SRU has a long history of its athletes having immediate success as evidenced by its seven PSAC West Freshmen of the Year honorees – the most of any school in the division.
 
Past Rock PSAC West Freshmen of the Year
Jessica Bungo (2001)
Ashley Michaux (2003)
Kayla Blackburn (2006)
Laura Handy (2007)
Lacey Cohen (2017)
Sakhanova (2023)
Kempton (2024)
 
ITA RANKINGS CHECK
Slippery Rock was well-represented on the initial individual national and Atlantic Region rankings released by the ITA in November.
 
Singles
Amaia Balaguer Brau
National: 7th
Atlantic Region: 1st
 
Alissia Kivi
Atlantic Region: 6th
 
Dari Sakhanova
Atlantic Region: 10th
 
Nicole Kempton
Atlantic Region: 11th
 
Tina Slovak
Atlantic Region: 20th
 
Doubles
Nicole Kempton / Alissia Kivi
National: 22nd
Atlantic Region: 2nd
 
Dari Sakhanova / Tina Slovak
Atlantic Region: 6th
 
Amaia Balaguer Brau / Georgie Lancaster
Atlantic Region: 9th
 
MEREDITH PROMINENT ON D2 WINS LIST
Already the winningest women's tennis coach in SRU and PSAC history, head coach Matt Meredith will enter his 27th season with The Rock in 2024-25 possessing a 378-214 career record. He ranks 13th in NCAA Division II history for career wins and is the eighth winningest active coach in the country.
 
Wins by Active Head Coaches
1. Mike Perez – Lynn: 712
2. Mark Rosewell - Northwest Missouri - 667
3. Derrick Racine – West Florida: 613
4. Alan Nagel – Queens College: 602
5. Evan Isaacs – Columbus State: 449
6. Mark Bohren – Azusa Pacific: 438
7. Avi Kigel – Barry: 382
8. Matt Meredith – Slippery Rock: 378
 
All-Time Wins by D2 Head Coaches
1. Mike Perez (1990-Active) – Lynn: 712
2. Dave Porter (1984-17) – BYU-Hawai'I: 701
3. Mark Rosewell (1982-Active) - Northwest Missouri - 667
4. Derrick Racine (1995-Active) – West Florida: 613
5. Alan Nagel (1980-Active) – Queens College: 602
6. Walter Shinn (1979-14) – Flagler: 536
7. Bev Buckley (1987-24) – Rollins: 535
8. Evan Isaacs (2002-Active) – Columbus State: 449
9. Sheila Snyder (1989-24) – Wayne State: 446
10. Mark Bohren (1998-Active) – Azusa Pacific: 438
11. David Elliott (1991-13) – Harding: 403
12. Avi Kigel (2009-Active) – Barry: 382
t13. Matt Meredith – Slippery Rock: 378
t13. Garth Thomson (1992-21) – Francis Marion: 378

THE ROCK IN SEASON OPENERS
Opening the year on the right foot has been common for the Slippery Rock women's tennis program. Since 1972-73, SRU has gone 40-11 in its season openers. Slippery Rock has won seven of its last nine season openers including a 5-4 victory over Carnegie Mellon a year ago.
 
SLIPPERY ROCK PRIMER
• Roster: Link
• Stats: Link
• 2023-24 Overall Record: 15-8
• 2023-24 PSAC West Record: 5-1
• 2023-24 PSAC West Finish: 2nd
• 2023-24 Postseason: NCAA Tournament (Second Round)
• Home Record: 0-0
• Away Record: 0-0
• Neutral Site Record: 0-0
• Streak: N/A
• Last Five Matches: N/A
• Head Coach: Matt Meredith | 27th season (378-214, .639)
 
SCOUTING THE ROCK
• Balaguer Brau became the seventh-ranked singles athlete in all of Division II – the highest such ranking by a Rock athlete in program history – after a dominating fall campaign in which she totaled a 9-3 record while winning the ITA Atlantic Region Singles Championship and taking a match at the prestigious ITA Cup.
 
• Now in her third collegiate season, Balaguer Brau has won 74.6 percent of her singles matches (47-16). In her first year at SRU a season ago she was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Year and an all-conference honoree in both singles and doubles.
 
• Sakhanova also enjoyed a productive fall season as the junior went 6-2 with the highlight being her play at the ITA Atlantic Region Championships where she advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to Balaguer Brau.
 
• It has taken Sakhanova just over two full seasons to rack up 37 singles wins at a 63.4 percent rate. A year ago, she went 16-11 in singles outings including a 12-6 mark out of the third flight.
 
• Kempton immediately acquainted herself to collegiate tennis with a standout rookie season in 2023-24 that resulted in the South Park, Pennsylvania native earning PSAC West Freshman of the Year honors thanks in no small part to a 15-7 singles record. An all-conference choice in both singles and doubles, Kempton was 13-6 in dual matches while playing primarily from fourth and fifth flights as a freshman.
 
• Kempton seems poised to avoid any sort of a sophomore slump after exiting the fall with a 5-2 record.
 
• Kivi laid the groundwork to be the next great Rock rookie in the fall after posting a stellar 6-2 singles record, including a trip to the quarterfinals of the ITA Atlantic Region Championships, all the while partnering with Kempton to go 10-2 in doubles outings and make the title match at the regional championships in that discipline as well.
 
• Slovak enjoyed a breakout sophomore season in The Rock's singles lineup a year ago. After going 9-13 as a freshman in 2022-23, she shined in 2023-24 by turning in a near perfect 16-3 overall record, including a 14-2 dual match showing in the back portion of SRU's lineup.
 
• Rounding out The Rock's returners is Lancaster. The lone senior on this year's roster, Lancaster has been with SRU for a full four seasons where she's compiled 53 career wins including three singles victories from the fall.

• Slovak and Sakhanova have teamed together for three seasons now. When partnered, the duo has posted a 36-15 overall record. There is perhaps no better third-flight team in the Atlantic Region as evidenced by their 24-4 record from that spot in SRU's lineup.
 
YOUNGSTOWN STATE PRIMER
• Roster: Link
• Stats: Link
• Overall Record: 3-2
• Home Record: 1-1
• Away Record: 0-1
• Neutral Site Record: 2-0
• Streak: L1
• Last Five Matches: 3-2
• Head Coach: Mickael Sopel | 12th season (135-123, .523)
 
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
• YSU has won three of its first five dual matches of the year with victories over Miami (Ohio) (6-1), Oral Roberts (5-2) and Weber State (6-1) in addition to losses versus Marshall (4-3) and UNLV (5-2).
 
• The Slippery Rock match will cap off a busy weekend for the Penguins that includes a Friday match against Buffalo and a Saturday contest against Toledo before its nightcap against SRU.
 
• Youngstown State is led by Julia Marko, who won the Horizon League Individual Championship in the fall. Markos carries a 16-4 overall record into the weekend and is a perfect 5-0 from the top flight in dual matches.
 
• The No. 2 and No. 3 spots in the Youngstown State's singles lineup to date has been occupied by Lili Minich and Yeseniia Ovcharova. Minich is 11-7 overall and 3-2 out of the second flight while Ovcharova is 7-9 overall and 2-3 in third-flight dual match contests.
 
• The quartet of Lorena Cedeno (11-5), Ghada Dirninger (8-9), Yoana Dudova (8-1) and Line Greyling (3-9) have competed in various spots in the back half of YSU's singles rotation in the early stages of the spring season.
 
• Head coach Mickael Sopel has mixed and matched 21 different doubles combinations in 2024-25 through individual tournament play and dual matches. Of the various pairings, Marko and Dirninger have been the only team to play together in all five dual matches: they are 3-2 between the first and second flights.  
 
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock will meet Division III power Carnegie Mellon University 6:30 p.m. Feb. 14 at Alpha Tennis and Fitness in Pittsburgh for the annual match between The Rock and Tartans. SRU earned a 5-4 victory over CMU a year ago.
 
 



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