FAIRMONT, W. Va. – The Slippery Rock University women's tennis team defeated Fairmont State University, 5-2, on the road Sunday at the FSU Tennis Courts in Fairmont, West Virginia.
 
Slippery Rock has now won two straight matches, improving its record to 5-6 overall, 4-2 against fellow Division II competition and 3-0 inside the Atlantic Region. The Falcons' record dropped to 2-4 following the loss.
 
Sunday's contest was a rematch of the 2023 first round NCAA Tournament match between SRU and FSU, which The Rock won 4-1.
 
SRU captured its latest win by overcoming losing the team doubles point with five consecutive singles victories.
 
Dari Sakhanova and Georgie Lancaster got The Rock going early with a 6-1 victory from the third flight over Laura Maciel and Luiza Parreira. The veteran duo has now won consecutive matches to even their season record at 5-5.
 
However, Fairmont State took the first and second flight bouts to register the first point of the match. Out of the first flight, Lara Smith and Hope Backx bested Alissia Kivi and Nicole Kempton (6-3) while Maria Fonseca and Jada Okoye edged Amaia Balaguer Brau and Tina Slovak in second flight play (6-4).
 
Undeterred, Slippery Rock rallied in the singles portion of the match starting with a win out of the first flight where 36th-ranked Balaguer Brau downed Fonseca 6-3, 6-3. She is now 15-8 overall in 2024-25.  
 
Kivi then stretched her winning streak to three matches – the longest active run by a Rock athlete – courtesy of a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Backx from the second flight. Her latest win pushes her record to 13-6 overall and 6-2 from the second flight.
 
The back half of The Rock's singles lineup then closed out the win as Slovak beat Smith 6-2, 7-5 in fourth flight action followed by Lancaster earning the match-deciding point by way of a 6-2, 6-2 showing versus Emma McKnight.
 
Sakhanova tallied SRU's final point of the match in the fifth flight when she defeated Okoye in 6-2, 6-2 fashion.
 
Slovak, Lancaster and Sakhanova have all now won two straight matches with Slovak evening her record at 7-7 and Sakhanova improving to 12-7.
 
Fairmont State avoided the singles sweep when Maciel was awarded the win from the third flight due to retirement.
 
Slippery Rock returns to competition when it opens the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division portion of its schedule against Indiana University (Pa.) 12 p.m. March 29 at the SRU Tennis Courts.
 
 
 
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