Slippery Rock University Athletics

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The No. 28 Slippery Rock University women's tennis team defeated No. 48 Fairmont State University, 4-0, Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the SRU Tennis Courts in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.
 
The shutout victory sends Slippery Rock to the NCAA Tournament's Round of 16 for a second consecutive year and the fifth time in program history overall.
 
The Rock continues their quest for a national championship with an impeccable 16-3 overall record while Fairmont State ends its year at 16-8. Slippery Rock will learn its opponent in the Round of 16, as well as its official seed, May 13 with Round of 16 competition set to start May 19 at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex in Surprise, Arizona.
 
Slippery Rock has now won seven straight matches, including four consecutive shutouts over the stretch.
 
The Rock opened their second-round tournament victory quickly via wins out of the first and third doubles flights to take the first available team point of the match.
 
The 41st-ranked duo of Alissia Kivi and Nicole Kempton first beat Hope Backx and Lara Smith (6-2) followed directly by a 6-1 win out of the third flight from Nadia Rodewald and Dari Sakhanova against Laura Maciel and Alara Akgul.
 
With their wins, Kivi and Kempton improved to 21-11 on the year. Sakhanova and Rodewald are now 23-2 to go with a six-match winning streak.
 
Amaia Balaguer Brau and Tina Slovak held a 5-1 advantage against Stephanie Gopar and Maria Fonseca when the bout was stopped after SRU clinched the team doubles point.
 
Slippery Rock officially collected another NCAA Tournament victory by way of wins out of the first, third and sixth singles flights.
 
Balaguer Brau secured the first of the three singles wins via a 6-2, 6-1 decision over Fonseca. Not only is Balaguer Brau now 22-7, she's also won seven straight first-flight contests.
 
Kempton then chalked up her 20th win of the season by way of a 6-0, 6-4 triumph over Gopar. A winner in her last six outings, Kempton is 20-6 on the year overall.
 
Already in possession of one of the top winning streaks in program history, Rodewald etched the final needed point of the day for The Rock as she bested Akgul in 6-2, 6-3 fashion. Rodewald is 19-6 in 2025-26 after having won 14 consecutive matches which is tied for the sixth longest documented winning streak in program history.
 
With The Rock's trip to the Round of 16 clinched, the final three singles matches were left unfinished.
 
Dating back to the 2021-22 season, Slippery Rock is 23-1 in matches played at the SRU Tennis Courts.
 
Regardless of opponent, The Rock's next match will occur May 19 at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex in Surprise, Arizona with a start time of either 8 a.m. or noon.





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