2026 ITA Regional Awards

TEMPE, Ariz. – Two members of the Slippery Rock University women's tennis team earned a pair of major honors from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association when the organization released its annual regional awards Tuesday.
 
Amaia Balaguer Brau was named the ITA Atlantic Region Senior Player of the Year and Dari Sakhanova was recognized as the Atlantic Region Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship award recipient.
 
The ITA Senior Player of the Year honors the senior student-athlete who had the best year among all student-athletes in their region.
 
The ITA/Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award recognizes outstanding individuals in all divisions at the regional and national level. This award, which dates back to 1982, goes to NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and JUCO men's and women's players who have exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements.
 
Both Balaguer Brau and Sakhanova join an exclusive list of former Rock greats to have earned their respective awards.
 
Balaguer Brau is the third SRU athlete to be named the Atlantic Region Senior Player of the Year, joining Laura Handy (2010) and Jessica Bungo (2004). Sakhanova meanwhile is the fifth Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award regional choice from Slippery Rock: Bungo (2003), Dunja Drmac (2012), Lauren Coggins (2014) and Viola Lugmayr were past honorees.
 
Few athletes in program history have had as decorated of a career as Balaguer Brau. With 2026 league awards still to be announced, Balaguer Brau is already a two-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division Athlete of the Year (2024 + 2025) as well as being a four-time all-conference selection, a two-time ITA Atlantic Region Player to Watch and the 2024 ITA Atlantic Region Singles Champion.
 
The 2025-26 season has been another dominant campaign for Balaguer Brau, who has gone 22-7 in single matches, including a 15-4 record in first flight competition. The 2026 PSAC Tournament MVP is also 20-5 in doubles play while teaming primarily with Tina Slovak from the second flight. Despite spending her freshman season at St. Thomas Aquinas, Balaguer Brau still managed to become the 10th winningest athlete in program history with 123 career wins.
 
Much like Balaguer Brau, Sakhanova has been an impact athlete both on and off the court at Slippery Rock since coming to SRU from Weatherford College prior to the start of the 2022-23 spring season.
 
Athletically, Sakhanova is a former All-PSAC West honoree and the 2023 PSAC West Freshman of the Year who ranks sixth in program history for wins in a career (140). Academically, Sakhanova is a three-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team honoree who will graduate from SRU with a 3.95 GPA as a sport management major.
 
Sakhanova has once again been solid in The Rock's singles lineup this year with a 16-6 overall record and a 11-3 showing in dual matches. To go with their stellar singles play, Sakhanova has teamed with Nadia Rodewald to form a dominant doubles team for Slippery Rock in 2026. They have gone 23-2 overall in 2025-26 with a nearly perfect 15-1 third flight record.
 
Balaguer Brau and Sakhanova have helped to lead Slippery Rock to a 16-3 team record and to No. 28 on the ITA Top 50 poll in 2026. SRU won the PSAC Tournament and earned to the top seed in the Atlantic Region for the NCAA Tournament. SRU defeated Fairmont State University, 4-0, in the second round to advance to the Round of 16 for a second consecutive year.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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