2026 CSC Tennis Academic All-District Team

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - Nicole Kempton, Alissia Kivi, Nadia Rodewald and Dari Sakhanova represented the Slippery Rock University women's tennis team on the 2026 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team, the organization announced Tuesday.
 
In order to be eligible to earn CSC Academic All-District recognition, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically and own a cumulative grade point average above 3.50 while having significant athletic credentials. Additionally, athletes must have been in the lineup for 70 percent of their team's total matches.
 
Nomination limits per institution are in place for each sport in which the CSC sponsors an academic all-district team. In the sport of tennis, each school can nominate a maximum of four student-athletes.
 
Tuesday's announcement marks the third season that Sakhanova has been named to the CSC Academic All-District Team while Kempton is now a two-time honoree. Kivi and Rodewald are making their first appearances on the list in their initial years of eligibility.
 
Kempton, who holds a perfect 4.00 GPA as a public health major, returns to the CSC Academic All-District Team after becoming the fourth CSC Academic All-America choice in program history a season ago. Off the court this season, Kempton has already been named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Champion Scholar. Athletically, Kempton has gone 20-6 in singles competition, including a 13-4 dual match record.
 
A public relations major with a 3.94 GPA, Kivi has followed up on a rookie season in which she was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Rookie of the Year and the PSAC West Freshman of the Year by producing a dominant 23-4 singles record that includes a 14-3 dual match record out of the second flight.
 
Kivi and Kempton have also partnered to form one of the top doubles teams in Division II. The duo has a 21-11 record and are currently ranked as the No. 41 pairing in the nation by the ITA. Among their doubles success includes taking runner-up honors at the ITA Atlantic Region Championships and earning an at-large bid into the ITA Cup.
 
Like Kempton, Rodewald holds a perfect 4.00 GPA while majoring in psychology. A transfer from Grand Valley State University, Rodewald has been a stalwart in The Rock's singles lineup with a 19-6 overall record and a nearly perfect 16-1 tally in dual matches while primarily competing out of the sixth flight. Rodewald is currently on a 14-match winning streak, which is tied for the sixth longest stretch of consecutive wins in documented program history.
 
The veteran-most member of The Rock's CSC Academic All-District honorees, Sakhanova recently earned her bachelor's degree as a sport management major with a 3.95 GPA. As she has been for the entirety of her Slippery Rock career, 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, Rodewald and Sakhanova have also formed a dominant doubles team for Slippery Rock. They have gone 23-2 overall in 2025-26 with a nearly perfect 15-1 third flight record.
 
The quartet has 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 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference 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.
 
Kempton and Kivi were among a select group of all-district selections, which was determined by a CSC sub-committee, that will now advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot. The CSC Academic All-America Team will be announced June 2.





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