SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University women's tennis team lost its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division opener Saturday to Indiana University (Pa.), 4-3, at the SRU Tennis Courts.
 
The Rock's PSAC West setback drops its record to 5-7 overall while the Crimson Hawks improve to 6-6. Saturday's loss was just the first for Slippery Rock at the SRU Tennis Courts in its last 18 matches played at the venue.
 
SRU captured the doubles point, but IUP rallied with four singles wins to claim the narrow victory.
 
Slippery Rock and Indiana split the first two doubles decisions of the day with Amaia Balaguer Brau and Tina Slovak besting Lieselotte Hartlöhner and Annemiek Sterk out of the second flight, 6-0, while Hannah Beitat and Asel Calbay recorded a 6-1 win against Georgie Lancaster and Dari Sakhanova from the third flight.
 
The Rock's top doubles pairing of Nicole Kempton and Alissia Kivi proceeded to secure the first team point of the match when they beat Dani Ramos and Ming Deewajee, 6-4. Ramos and Deewajee entered the match as the 19th-ranked doubles team in the nation.
 
Kempton and Kivi are now 18-5 on the season including an 8-3 showing in first-flight play meanwhile Balaguer Brau and Slovak are an equally as impressive 9-3 out of the second flight.
 
Deewajee bounced back from her doubles loss to grab a 6-2, 6-2 win against Kivi in the second singles flight to even the match at 1-1 only for Balaguer Brau – who climbed to No. 26 in the latest national singles rankings – to give SRU its lead back by way of a 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 victory versus Hartlohner.
 
The Rock's nationally ranked ace has now won three consecutive matches to improve her mark to 16-8 on the year.
 
However, the Crimson Hawks took the following three finished flights in a trio of close calls to clinch the team victory.
 
Sterk first pulled IUP back into a tie with The Rock at 2-2 via a 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 sixth-flight win against Lancaster followed by Calbay defeating Sakhanova in the fifth flight (7-6, 6-4) and Beitat beating Slovak from the fourth flight (6-3, 6-7 (7-3), 6-1).
 
While it had no bearing on the overall result, the third flight did go to The Rock as Kempton earned a 6-2, 6-2 win against Ramos. Kempton is now 11-8 in 2025 and 6-3 from the third flight.
 
Slippery Rock will look to return to its winning ways when it hosts Clarion 4 p.m. April 1 at the SRU Tennis Courts. The Rock and Golden Eagles were originally scheduled to play April 2, but with the chance of inclement weather in the area that match has been moved up a day.




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