The Slippery Rock women’s tennis opened up their Spring season with a 0-9 loss to Division III Carnegie Mellon University on Sunday Feb. 9.
The win kept the Tartans undefeated at 3-0 and the loss drops SRU’s overall record to 2-4.
This is the eighth time Slippery Rock has met with Carnegie Mellon on their court in Monroeville.
The 2011 season was the last time Slippery Rock scored against the Tartans with a final score of 1-8.
Carnegie Mellon University’s women’s tennis team is currently ranked ninth out of all DIII schools in the country.
“Playing teams such as CMU is a learning experience for the team,” head coach Matt Meredith said. “It’s a great way to increase our ability levels and see other teams outside of our conference.”
The teams played six singles and three doubles, along with two exhibition matches on Sunday.
Senior Nikolina Grbac was teamed with senior Sarah Joumond for the first doubles team and senior Lauren Coggins and freshman Stephanie Fortier made up the second team. Freshman Kylee Woodman and sophomore Courtney Gallagher competed as the third doubles team. Carnegie Mellon took the first two sets 8-2 and the third, 8-1.
All six girls played in the singles as well.
Freshman Emily Munson and sophomore Nicole Sopcak played exhibition games that were not included in the final score of the game but were played to give the players experience on the court.
Although the final score didn’t fall in the Rock’s favor, Meredith was pleased with the team’s performance.
Meredith felt that every match displayed that the team, as a whole, was competitive and improved as the night progressed.
“The ladies are growing and working their way up as a whole,” Meredith said. “Playing matches like our last one will help prepare us when it comes time to play a PSAC team.”
Meredith saw improvements in the play of both Joumond and Woodman’s singles matches. Joumond went from 1-6 to 3-6 in her singles match against CMU’s Angela Pratt, while Woodman improved from 1-6 to 4-6 against Elizabeth Martin.
Fortier had a consistent performance against Nicholle Torres with a score of 3-6 in both matches.
“Fortier showed progress in her matches and was able to keep the ball in play,” Meredith said. “As a freshman, she is definitely learning what needs to be done on the court.”
Fortier said that the team showed up and played well on Sunday.
“I think CMU’s team is incredibly strong, but everyone on our team went on the court and competed to the absolute best of their abilities,” Fortier said. “As a team, we are getting better, faster and stronger every day. I am confident in what lies ahead for us.”
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, the team is anxious to compete outside in warmer weather. They are set to travel to Hilton Head Island, SC over Spring Break where they will play a total of six matches. The team is also looking forward to their first PSAC game against Mercyhurst University on Tues. March 25 following the break.
The Green and White are set to play their next match against Division III Grove City College in Wexford at the Oxford Athletic Club at 3 p.m. Feb. 22.
