SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University women's tennis team opens the spring portion of its 2025-26 season 4 p.m. Saturday against Atlantic Region foe Frostburg State University at the Oxford Athletic Club in Wexford, Pennsylvania.

LIVE COVERAGE
Live in-match results of Saturday's match will be provided free of charge by the SRU tennis program HERE or at the below link.  
  
MATCH 1 DETAILS
Opponent: Frostburg State University
Date: Saturday – 4 p.m.
Location: Oxford Athletic Club - Wexford, Pennsylvania
Live Results: Link
All-Time Series: SRU leads 2-0
Last Played: Feb. 9, 2024 (SRU won 5-2)
 
SERIES HISTORY
SERIES HISTORY
Slippery Rock – Frostburg State is a relatively new series as The Rock and Bobcats have met just twice since FSU moved from Division III to Division II in 2022. Both of the previous matches resulted in Rock victories via a 6-1 win in 2023 and a 5-2 triumph in 2024.
 
While there's been limited interaction between the two rosters both in dual matches and during individual tournaments, no active Slippery Rock athlete has lost a singles match against a Frostburg State representative over their careers. Amaia Balaguer Brau and Dari Sakhanova both hold 2-0 records versus Bobcat athletes, with Nicole Kempton being 1-0.
 
SRU vs. FSU (Individual records)
Amaia Balaguer Brau (2-0)
2024-25: Lauren Ceballos (Won 6-1, 6-1)
2023-24: Julia Ramos Bentham (Won 6-1, 6-2)
 
Dari Sakhanova (2-0)
2023-24: Lorena Pintar (Won 6-2, 6-1)
2022-23: Lorena Pintar (Won 6-2, 6-4)
 
Nicole Kempton (1-0)
2023-24: Lauren Ceballos (Won 6-1, 6-1)

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 64.9 percent of its matches (375-203), had 22 winning seasons while making 18 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament appearances and earning 20 NCAA Tournament bids.
 
SRU has made the finals of the PSAC Tournament in four consecutive years and has missed out on the NCAA Tournament just once in the last 10 seasons.
 
ABOUT LAST YEAR
As it enters the team portion of its 2025-26 season, Slippery Rock is coming off another stellar showing a year ago in which it went 15-10 overall and 5-1 in the PSAC Western Division.
 
In what's become a near annual occurrence, SRU once again advanced to the finals of the PSAC Tournament before earning another NCAA Tournament bid. The Rock claimed a regional championship with NCAA Tournament victories over Shaw (4-0) and IUP (4-3) before having its season come to a close in the Round of 16 against eventual national runner-up Nova Southeastern (4-0).
 
WHO'S BACK
Slippery Rock's roster is virtually identical from last season as SRU lost just one key contributor from a year ago – Georgie Lancaster (14-13 singles / 13-15 doubles) – while returning five other members from its standard singles lineup in senior Amaia Balaguer Brau, junior Nicole Kempton, sophomore Alissia Kivi, senior Dari Sakhanova and senior Tina Slovak. Also returning for SRU in her second year in the program is Marika Kempinski.
 
• Balaguer Brau is the reigning two-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division Athlete of the Year.
 
• Kempton has garnered four All-PSAC West honors and is a former PSAC West Freshman of the Year who is one half of arguably the top doubles pairing in the Atlantic Region alongside Kivi, who earned PSAC West and ITA Atlantic Region Freshman of the Year accolades last year.
 
• Sakhanova and Slovak are both proven collegiate winners with 116 and 103 wins, respectively, throughout their careers. Like Kempton and Kivi, Sakhanova is a former PSAC West Freshman of the Year.
 
WELCOME TO THE ROCK
Meredith rounded out his 2025-26 roster with a pair of sophomore transfers in Nadia Rodewald and Anna Poranski. Rodewald joins the program from Grand Valley State University, while Poranski comes from nearby Grove City College.
 
Rodewald was 2-0 in limited singles action at GVSU. Poranski made the decision to move up to The Rock after earning first team All-Presidents' Athletic Conference honors as a singles competitor and second team All-PAC doubles accolades during her lone year at Grove City.

ITA RANKINGS CHECK
Slippery Rock, which closed the 2024-25 season as the No. 49 team in Division II, was well-represented on the initial individual national and Atlantic Region rankings released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association in November.
 
National Doubles
No. 12: Nicole Kempton / Alissia Kivi
 
National Singles
No. 46: Alissia Kivi
 
Atlantic Region Doubles
No. 2: Nicole Kempton / Alissia Kivi (SRU)
 
Atlantic Region Singles
No. 5 Alissia Kivi (SRU)
No. 8: Nicole Kempton (SRU)
No. 9: Amaia Balaguer Brau (SRU)
No. 11: Dari Sakhanova (SRU)
No. 14: Julia Ramos Bentham (FSU)

FALL RECAP (Full Stats)
The individual portion of The Rock's 2025-26 season saw the bulk of SRU's roster compete in four competitions (Husky Invitational, Bucknell Invitational, Carnegie Mellon Invitational, ITA Atlantic Region Championships).
 
Highlighting Slippery Rock's fall performers were Kivi and Kempton.
 
The Rock's top doubles team enjoyed a strong start to the 2025-26 season with a 9-6 overall record. Kivi and Kempton took runner-up honors at the ITA Atlantic Region Championships while qualifying for the prestigious ITA Cup. The duo enters the spring in possession of a 6-3 record against Division II competition.
 
Kivi also began her sophomore season with nine singles wins in her first 10 matches. The lone blemish to her singles mark this year came in the quarterfinals of the ITA Atlantic Region Championships against Filippa Larsson – the 16th-ranked singles athlete in Division II.
 
Kempton (7-2) and Balaguer Brau (7-3) sported near identical quality singles records. Sakhanova heads into the spring season holding a 5-3 singles record from the fall. Slovak split her two singles bouts, while Poranski and Rodewald both exited the individual portion of the year at 3-5.
 
Joining Kempton and Kivi with great doubles records in the fall were the groupings of Rodewald and Sakhanova (8-1) as well as Slovak and Balaguer Brau (5-1).
 
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 28th season with The Rock in 2025-26 possessing a 393-224 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: 724
2. Mark Rosewell - Northwest Missouri - 684
3. Derrick Racine – West Florida: 630
4. Alan Nagel – Queens College: 617
5. Evan Isaacs – Columbus State: 467
6. Mark Bohren – Azusa Pacific: 463
7. Avi Kigel – Barry: 408
8. Matt Meredith – Slippery Rock: 393
 
All-Time Wins by D2 Head Coaches
1. Mike Perez (1990-Active) – Lynn: 724
2. Dave Porter (1984-17) – BYU-Hawai'i: 701
3. Mark Rosewell (1982-Active) - Northwest Missouri - 684
4. Derrick Racine (1995-Active) – West Florida: 630
5. Alan Nagel (1980-Active) – Queens College: 617
6. Walter Shinn (1979-14) – Flagler: 536
7. Bev Buckley (1987-24) – Rollins: 535
8. Evan Isaacs (2002-Active) – Columbus State: 467
9. Mark Bohren (1998-Active) – Azusa Pacific: 463
10. Sheila Snyder (1989-24) – Wayne State: 446
11. Avi Kigel (2009-Active) – Barry: 408
12. David Elliott (1991-13) – Harding: 403
13. Matt Meredith – Slippery Rock: 393
14. Steve Barsby (1996-Active): 388
15. Calhoun Parr (2000-Active): 387
 
100-WIN CLUB ABOUT TO EXPAND
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Slippery Rock will add at least two more athletes to its 100-win club this year.
 
Entering Saturday's match, Kempton and Balaguer Brau have both compiled 93 wins at Slippery Rock. With seven more wins the duo will become the 17th and 18th members of the program's 100-win club (Singles+Doubles).
 
When they reach the milestone, Kempton and Balaguer Brau will join Slovak and Sakhanova as active members of The Rock's 100-win club.
 
A possibility also exists that Kivi could make it five members of this year's roster with 100 wins at SRU. Kivi posted 49 wins as a freshman and is already two victories above her pace this season compared to last year.

FROSTBURG STATE PRIMER
• Roster: Link
• Stats: Link
• Overall Record: 2-3
• Home Record: 1-0
• Away Record: 1-3
• Streak: L1
• Head Coach: Desire Johnson
 
SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
While Saturday's match will be the first for The Rock, FSU enters the contest having played five dual matches on the season. FSU exited the fall portion of the year at 2-2 courtesy of wins over Catholic (4-3) and East Stroudsburg (4-3) as well as losses to California (1-6) and Salem (3-4).
 
Frostburg State opened its spring a week ago in a 7-0 shutout loss against Indiana University (Pa.).
 
PROBABLE LINEUP (Last Match Starters)
(Dual Match Record)
Singles
1-Julia Ramos Bentham (4-1)
2-Ximena Ku (0-1)
3-Patricia Castejon (3-2)
4-Alyssa Kush (1-4)
5-Ella Troxell (1-4)
6-Claudia Coombes (2-3)
Doubles
1-Bentham / Kush (2-3)
2-Castejon / Ku (0-1)
3-Troxell / Coombes (1-1)
 
UP NEXT
The Rock continues non-conference competition 8 p.m. Feb. 20 against Tiffin University at the PA Tennis Academy in Wexford, Pennsylvania.






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