SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — No. 48 Fairmont State (16-8) fell to No. 28 Slippery Rock (16-3) 4-0 on Saturday in the NCAA Tournament Round 2 at the SRU Tennis Courts.
Fairmont State fell short in the doubles portion of the match, with Slippery Rock securing the doubles point. The No. 2 doubles match between
Stephanie Gopar and
Maria Fonseca of the Falcons and Amaia Balaguer Brau and Tina Slovak of Slippery Rock was left unfinished at 5-1 in favor of Slippery Rock. Fairmont State faced defeats at both No. 1 doubles, where Slippery Rock's 41st ranked pair, Alissia Kivi and Nicole Kempton, overcame
Hope Backx and
Lara Smith, 6-2, and at No. 3 doubles, with Nadia Rodewald and Dari Sakhanova defeating
Laura Maciel and
Alara Akgul, 6-1.
In singles, Slippery Rock continued its strong performance.
Hope Backx faced a challenging match at No. 2 singles, ultimately falling to 74th ranked Alissia Kivi in three sets, 6-1, 3-6, 3-0. At No. 1 singles,
Maria Fonseca was defeated by Amaia Balaguer Brau, 6-2, 6-1, contributing to Slippery Rock's lead. The No. 3 singles match saw
Stephanie Gopar losing to Nicole Kempton, 6-0, 6-4, which clinched the match for Slippery Rock.
The remaining singles matches continued as the Falcons sought to narrow the margin.
Lara Smith registered a victory at No. 4 singles, defeating Tina Slovak, 6-0, 6-4, to earn Fairmont State's only singles win.
Laura Maciel's No. 5 singles match ended prematurely with Dari Sakhanova leading 7-5, while
Alara Akgul was defeated by Nadia Rodewald at No. 6 singles, 6-2, 6-3, resulting in a final dual score of 4-1 in favor of Slippery Rock.
Fairmont State ends the year with a record of 16-8 while going 5-1 in Mountain East Conference play.
