The Rock is off to good start to the 2015-2016 season and have now added one of the top recruits in Pennsylvania for next season.
Lacey Cohen, a senior at Fox Chapel High School near Pittsburgh, has decided to continue her education and tennis career at SRU.
Cohen comes to SRU as a three-star prospect, the number 12 ranked player in Pennsylvania and the number 53 ranked player in the Middle Atlantic Region.
SRU Head Coach Matt Meredith is excited to have Lacey on board for years to come.
“It feels very good to add Lacey to our team,” Meredith said. “She will be a great addition to our young and up-in-coming team.”
Cohen, who has mainly focused on singles the past two years, has also had great success in the doubles division. Alongside teammate Laurel Shymansky, they were crowned the 2013 WPIAL and PIAA doubles Champions for Fox Chapel.
Meredith has been impressed by Cohen’s play and believes she will excel in both doubles and singles.
“She’s very strong off of the ground, and is able to play at a high level of doubles already,” Meredith said. “She competes very well, and she’ll be at the top end of our lineup next year.”
Cohen originally had committed to the University of Hartford, but the school decided to cut their tennis program altogether. Hartford is an NCAA Division I tennis school, while Slippery Rock is an NCAA Division II school.
Coach Meredith believes she chose SRU for several reasons.
“Because of us being close to home,” Meredith said. “Along with great academics and the strength of our tennis program.”
With Fox Chapel being fairly close to SRU, Coach Meredith has been able to see Cohen play quite and get a rough idea of how she plays.
“I have seen her play in a couple local tournaments and she was always on our recruiting radar,” Meredith said. “With how she plays it will push everyone on the team to be better, as well as the team pushing her to be better.”
The Rock has gotten off to a good start this year, finishing up the fall semester at a 3-1 mark.
The team looks to be just as strong in the spring semester, and move into the 2016-2017 season with their new recruit, Lacey Cohen, on board.
