A loss to the No. 48 ranked University of Charleston (W.Va.) Saturday in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional at IUP ended the chance for Slippery Rock women’s tennis to get back to a sixth consecutive appearance in a regional-final match.
Two big victories in doubles matches for Charleston put them in a position to advance past SRU as Lauren Coggins and Elisabeth Yetiskul lost in the No. 2 spot and Janelle Krantz and partner Samantha Bruggeman lost in the No. 3 spot. The only doubles victory for SRU was by Sarah Lynch and Dunja Drmac in the No. 1 match.
Lynch reflected on how she felt about playing with doubles teammate and fellow senior Drmac all season.
“I was really honored to play my senior year of doubles with Dunja Drmac,” he said. “She has taught me a lot about true friendship and having true passion for the game and life in general.”
Lynch was responsible for two of SRU’s three points in the 5-3 loss as she also recorded a 6-1, 6-2 victory in her singles match. Lynch said that the loss wasn’t the conclusion that she wanted to her career but it was something that she could be proud of.
“The match was a bittersweet end to a long season,” she said. “In the end I did all I could and that’s something I can hold my head up high for.”
The only other point scored by the Green and White came from Elisabeth Yetiskul as she was victorious in her singles match.The loss by SRU gave them a 15-6 record in dual matches to end the season. The appearance in the NCAA tournament was the sixth consecutive for SRU and the 11th all-time in program history. The match that sealed the deal for Charleston on Saturday was the No. 4 singles match between Kelsey Hensley of Charleston and SRU’s Janelle Krantz. The victory by Charleston got them the point they needed in the “race-to-5” format that the NCAA tournament uses. Krantz lost the match 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
Now that the season is over for the Rock, they will focus on rebuilding the team next year.
