ITA Scholar-Athletes |
All-Academic Teams
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's tennis team had its outstanding work in the classroom during the 2025-26 academic year recognized Tuesday when the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) released its annual academic awards.
In addition to the program earning ITA All-Academic Team honors, six members of The Rock's roster also received ITA Scholar-Athlete accolades.
To be eligible to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete honors a student-athlete must be a varsity letter winner and have a GPA of at least 3.50.
Nicole Kempton,
Alissia Kivi,
Anna Poranski,
Nadia Rodewald,
Dari Sakhanova and
Tina Slovak all earned ITA Scholar-Athlete recognition. Kempton, Kivi, Rodewald and Sakhanova were also named to the College Sports Communicators' Academic All-District Team earlier in the offseason with Kempton going on to earn CSC Academic All-America accolades for a second consecutive year.
Two of The Rock's ITA Scholar-Athletes – Kempton and Kivi - earned All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division honors for their performances on the court in 2025-26.
Slippery Rock had the seventh highest total amount of ITA Scholar-Athletes Across the 30-team Atlantic Region, which is comprised of teams competing in the PSAC, Mountain East Conference, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and select independent schools. All told, 85.7 percent (6-of-7) of The Rock's 2025-26 roster earned recognition from the ITA Tuesday.
Only East Stroudsburg (10), Millersville (9), California (Pa.), (8), Fairmont State (8), Frostburg State (8) and IUP (7) had larger representation on this year's ITA Scholar-Athlete Team than The Rock. Each of those programs carried more student-athletes on their respective rosters than SRU.
Slippery Rock was also one of 95 teams in NCAA Division II to earn the ITA's Team Academic Award with a PSAC-best cumulative GPA of 3.832. A cumulative team GPA of at least 3.20 is required to be eligible for the distinction. The SRU women's team has finished the year with a team GPA of at least 3.65 for nine consecutive seasons.
Successes in and out of the classroom, Slippery Rock recently concluded another dominant season on the court.
The Rock compiled a 16-4 overall record while advancing to the NCAA Tournament's Round of 16 for a second consecutive season. SRU won the PSAC Tournament championship and its 16 wins tied this year's team for the seventh most victories in a single season in program history. Slippery Rock closed the year No. 24 in the ITA's year-end Division II rankings.
The ITA is the governing body of college tennis, overseeing men's and women's varsity tennis at all levels – NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community College.
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