The Slippery Rock University tennis team kept their Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoff hopes alive by dominating Clarion University Tuesday, defeating the Golden Eagles at home 9-0.
The win moved the Rock’s record to 10-9 overall and 3-2 in conference play. SRU currently sits in fourth place in the PSAC West division, behind Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Mercyhurst University and California University of Pennsylvania. The top three teams in each division will compete in the PSAC playoffs beginning April 21.
The Green and White began the day by winning the three doubles matches with relative ease. The number one doubles team of freshmen Carla Corrochano Moracho and Nina Barbano won 8-3, while sophomores Kylee Woodman and Stephanie Fortier took an 8-2 victory. The team of freshman Ana Petrovic and sophomore Emily Munson won 8-2 as well. The win by Corrochano Moracho and Barbano was their 10th win as a team for the season.
The Rock continued their dominance in the singles matches. All six matches were straight sets victories, with the closest match being Fortier’s 6-3, 6-3 win in the number four slot. Number three singles player, Petrovic, took a 6-2, 6-0 victory, while Munson, playing number five singles, only lost one game in each set, winning 6-1, 6-1.
Corrochano Moracho cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 victory in number one singles, as two very impressive streaks continued in the number two and six singles spots. Number two singles player, Barbano, won her sixth straight singles match, by a score of 6-0, 6-0. This improved her singles record to a team-best 14-7 on the year. Woodman, who also won a 6-0, 6-0 match, also continued her good play as the number six singles player. She is now 5-0 since returning to singles play following shoulder surgery, with three of her five wins being 6-0, 6-0 shutouts.
SRU head coach Matt Meredith loves the way Woodman is playing right now.
“Kylee has played very well,” Meredith said. “She is a competitor and has done a great job since coming back from her surgery.”
SRU’s next match is against West Virginia State University Saturday, where they will face a team with a record of 11-3 overall and 7-0 in the Mountain East Conference. The Green and White will need to have another strong performance, like they did against Clarion, if they want to defeat the Yellow Jackets.
The Rock is also fighting to get into the regional tournament at the end of the year.
“We have to beat West Virginia State on Saturday to have a shot,” Meredith said. “But, at least we’re under consideration right now.”
