LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's tennis team was well-represented on the 2026 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division awards list released Thursday as The Rock claimed two major awards and five of the 13 spots on the All-PSAC West Team.
 
Highlighting the lengthy list of honorees was Amaia Balaguer Brau, who was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Year for a third consecutive season in addition to earning first team All-PSAC West accolades in singles as well as in doubles along with partner Tina Slovak.
 
In being named the 2026 PSAC West Athlete of the Year, Balaguer Brau becomes just the second athlete in PSAC history to earn Athlete of the Year recognition three consecutive seasons, Saioa Gomez de Segura of Mercyhurst also earned the honor three straight times (2016-18). Balaguer Brau and Gomez de Segura are joined by Bloomsburg's Danielle Faretta (1997-98, 2000) as the only three-time PSAC Athlete of the Year choices.
 
A member of the Slippery Rock roster has been named the PSAC Athlete of the Year on seven occasions all-time, which ranks third in conference history behind only California (10) and Bloomsburg (8).
 
Joining Balaguer Brau as a major award winner representing SRU in Thursday's announcement is Matt Meredith, who was tabbed the PSAC West Coach of the Year. Meredith has now earned the honor of being the conference's top coach nine times, the second highest total in PSAC history behind only Bloomsburg's Marty Coyne (10).
 
Meredith has led SRU to 21 NCAA Tournament berths, five regional championships and a pair of PSAC titles along with 21 winning seasons. He has now developed 81 All-PSAC honorees and five PSAC West Athlete of the Year award winners. At 409 career victories, Meredith is the winningest coach in PSAC history while currently ranking 12th in career wins by a Division II coach.
 
Rounding out The Rock's All-PSAC West honorees were Alissia Kivi and Nicole Kempton. Both athletes earned first team all-conference singles recognition in addition to garnering first team doubles accolades.
 
Slippery Rock has produced a 16-3 team record while climbing to No. 28 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association 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 where it will meet No. 4 Nova Southeastern University 3 p.m. (EST) May 19 in Surprise, Arizona.
 
A look at the season highlights for each of The Rock's All-PSAC West selections can be found below.
 
AMAIA BALAGUER BRAU: PSAC West Athlete of the Year / First Team Singles
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. In addition to Thursday's awards, Balaguer Brau has already been named the PSAC Tournament MVP as well as the ITA's Atlantic Region Senior Player of the Year.
 
Despite spending her freshman season at St. Thomas Aquinas, Balaguer Brau has still managed to become the 10th winningest athlete in program history with 123 career wins. In addition to her three PSAC West Athlete of the Year citations, Balaguer Brau has drawn six all-conference awards.
 
ALISSIA KIVI: First Team Singles
Kivi has put together one of the best all-around singles seasons in program history. She enters The Rock's Round of 16 match in possession of a 23-4 overall record that includes a 14-3 tally in the second flight of dual matches as well as a perfect 6-0 mark versus PSAC West opponents.
 
Kivi, who has won her last seven completed bouts and holds 93 career wins already in her young career, is now a four-time All-PSAC West honoree as well as being 74th in the ITA's most recent Division II singles rankings.
 
NICOLE KEMPTON: First Team Singles
After earning second team All-PSAC West singles accolades as a freshman and sophomore, Kempton garnered first team singles honors by posting a 20-6 record this year. Among her 20 wins were 13 third flight victories and a 4-1 record inside the PSAC West.
 
With her junior year still not finished, Kempton already ranks 12th in program history in career wins (118). Off the court, she was named the 2026 PSAC Women's Tennis Champion Scholar and has a strong chance to repeat as a College Sports Communicators Academic All-America selection for a second consecutive year.
 
NICOLE KEMPTON / ALISSIA KIVI: First Team Doubles
The top team in a Slippery Rock doubles lineup that has taken the team point in every Division II match this season, Kivi and Kempton have collected a 21-11 record while facing some of the best competition in Division II. The duo, which went 12-5 in dual matches and a perfect 6-0 versus PSAC West foes, partnered to take runner-up honors at the ITA Atlantic Region Championships in the fall on the way to earning a berth into the ITA Cup prior to the team portion of the year.
 
Kempton and Kivi are the second winningest team in program history with a career record of 47-19. They trail only Kayla Blackburn and Laura Handy (53-14) for the most wins by a SRU doubles team in documented program history. They are currently 41st in the ITA's most recent Division II doubles rankings.
 
TINA SLOVAK / AMAIA BALAGUER BRAU: First Team Doubles
As has been the case for their entire careers as teammates, losses were few and far between this year when Slovak and Balaguer Brau took the court together. The duo raced through the competition en route to going 20-4 overall, 15-3 in dual matches and a perfect 6-0 inside the PSAC West. Only two of their four losses came against fellow Division II competition.
 
Much like Kempton and Kivi, the pairing of Slovak and Balaguer Brau will go down as one of the best in Slippery Rock history. At 38-8 as a team, they trail only their teammates and the aforementioned pairing of Blackburn and Handy for the most doubles wins at The Rock.






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