Slippery Rock women’s tennis continued its strong fall season at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational over the weekend, combining to win 11 of 15 singles matches against Carnegie Mellon, Case Western Reserve and Indiana University (Pa.).
The strong showing at Carnegie Mellon builds on an impressive start to the fall for The Rock. After securing their first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship in over two decades last spring, SRU opened its season at the Bucknell Invitational; The Rock won 13 of 21 individual matches in a field that included Bucknell, Saint Francis, Franklin & Marshall and IUP. Nicole Kempton and Nadia Rodewald led the way in doubles at Bucknell, going a perfect 3-0, while Léane Ben Ammar posted a 2-0 singles record. The tournament was shortened to one day after inclement weather forced the cancellation of Sunday’s matches.
Over the weekend, The Rock’s singles performance was highlighted by Rodewald, Noemi Gordan and Lucia Garcia Cortes, who each finished the weekend with perfect 2-0 records. Madison Warren also earned a singles victory, while several other SRU players battled through competitive matches across the two-day invitational.
Kempton started the weekend with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Case Western Reserve’s Gabby Lee, followed by Ben Ammar defeating Tara Markovic, 6-2, 6-4. Warren then battled through a three-set match against Maya Brink, winning 7-5, 5-7, 10-6.
Rodewald, Gordan and Garcia Cortes followed with victories of their own. Rodewald defeated Case Western Reserve’s Daryana Skobeleva, 6-0, 4-6, 10-4, while Gordan earned a 6-4, 6-3 win over Katie Ruci. Garcia Cortes added a 6-1, 6-3 victory against Trisha Vellanki.
Sophia van der Berg and Anna Poranski also contributed singles victories. Van der Berg defeated Sara Fernandez, 6-7, 6-2, 10-7; Poranski earned a 7-6, 6-3 win over Ava Karrenbauer.
After dropping its first singles match, SRU responded taking the following two contests. Rodewald defeated Carnegie Mellon’s Ainka Hou, 6-4, 6-2, while Garcia Cortes earned a 6-4, 6-4 win over Allison Hsieh. Gordan closed out singles play with a three-set victory over Carnegie Mellon’s Rachel Li, 2-6, 6-2, 10-6.
Doubles competition also featured several strong performances from The Rock. Rodewald and Kempton went 2-1 on the weekend, defeating Case Western Reserve’s Atra Biria and Markovic, 6-2, before later defeating Carnegie Mellon’s Nehir Ertan and Bella Nichilo, 6-4. The results improved the pairing’s season record to 5-2.
Garcia Cortes and Poranski also opened the weekend with a 6-2 victory over Case Western Reserve’s Fernandez and Karrenbauer. However, the duo later fell to Carnegie Mellon’s Ahona Chowdhury and Maya Diyasheva, 6-3, before dropping a 6-4 decision to IUP’s Hannah Beitat and Elina Mondani.
Gordan and van der Berg, along with Ben Ammar and Warren, also competed in doubles throughout the weekend.
Slippery Rock will conclude the individual portion of its fall season at the ITA Atlantic Region Championships Oct. 15-18 in Bloomsburg, Pa.
