WEST CHESTER, Pa.- With the regular season officially complete, the West Chester University women's tennis team (9-9, 3-2) has shifted its attention to the PSAC Tournament, which will begin on Monday afternoon at Slippery Rock with a PSAC Quarterfinal clash against the second seed in the PSAC West, Slippery Rock (12-3, 5-1), with first serve set for 2:30 p.m.
West Chester returns to the PSAC Tournament on Monday after a brief one-season hiatus, in search of its 12th PSAC Semifinal appearance, having reached the Semifinal round of the PSAC Tournament for 10 consecutive seasons entering the Spring 2025 campaign. New in 2026, the PSAC East and West will crossover in the Quarterfinals, creating a matchup between the Golden Rams and the Rock in the PSAC Quarterfinals, a matchup previously reserved for the PSAC Semifinals.
West Chester and Slippery Rock met in Florida earlier this season, and the Rock stretched its winning streak to seven in a row dating back to March 2018 with a 7-0 win over the Golden Rams. The two teams will meet in the PSAC Tournament for the second time since April 2023, when the Golden Rams fell to the Rock in the PSAC Semifinals in Bloomsburg, 4-0.
West Chester returns to the PSAC Quarterfinals in 2026 after going 3-2 in league action this spring, including a 4-3 win over Millersville on the road on March 24 to open league play before sweeping Shippensburg and Kutztown on April 7 and 22. The Golden Rams dropped just two league matches this spring, falling to both East Stroudsburg and Shippensburg on April 15 and 21 in West Chester by narrow 4-3 finals.
In conference singles matches,
Delaney Tingle (Charlotte, N.C./Palm Desert High) went 4-1 in the first singles position, while
Ashleigh Grooms (Newport, Ky./The Summit Country Day School) was 3-2 in second singles.
Alexandra Cave (Greenmeadows Napier, New Zealand/Woodford House) has the best record of any Golden Ram in conference singles matches as she is a perfect 5-0 at fourth singles, while
Sohana Thompson (Fairfield, Ohio/The Seven Hills School) is 4-1 in sixth singles.
Felicia Manful (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) is 2-3 in fifth singles, while
Brigitte Gravelle (Toronto, Canada/ESC Pere-Philippe Lamarche) is 2-3 in third singles matches.
In doubles, Tingle and Gravelle are 2-3 in first doubles, while Cave and Grooms are a perfect 5-0 at second doubles in league play. Manful and Thompson were also an excellent doubles tandem in league matches, going 4-1 in third doubles.
If West Chester is to make its 12
th PSAC Semifinal appearance later this week, the Golden Rams will need to defeat a hot Slippery Rock team that enters the Tournament at 12-3 overall and 5-1 in league play, including wins in each of its last three matches. The Rock finished the regular season on a three-match winning streak with victories over #23 Charleston (W.V.) (7-0), #47 West Virginia Wesleyan (5-2), and California (Pa.) (6-1). The Rock has won four of five matches, with the lone loss a 4-3 setback at #32 Indiana (Pa.) on April 15, and is 12-3 this spring after playing in all Individual Tournament-style action earlier in the fall 2025 half of the season.
In singles play, Alissia Kivi is 21-4 overall and 6-0in league matches, going 12-3 in second singles in dual matches. Amaia Balaguer Brau is 18-6 overall and 11-4 in first singles dual matches, including a record of 5-1 in league action, while Nadia Rodenwald is 17-6, including a 14-1 (6-0 in league action) in dual matches with a 9-1 record in sixth singles. Nicole Kempton is 17-6 overall and 10-4 in third singles dual matches, including a 4-1 mark in league play, while Dari Sakhanova is 15-6 in singles play, including a mark of 10-3 in dual matches (7-3 at fifth singles) with a record of 3-1 in league action.
In doubles, the duo of Kempton and Kivi is 19-11 overall and 10-5 in first doubles matches, including a 6-0 mark in league play, while Balaguer Brau and Tina Slovak are also unbeaten in league play at 6-0 with a 12-3 mark overall in second doubles matches, while going 17-4 as a duo (5-1 in Tournament play). Rodenwald and Sakhanova are 20-2 overall, including a mark of 12-1 in dual matches, and a 3-1 record in league doubles matches.
With a victory, West Chester would advance to the PSAC Semifinals at Bloomsburg beginning on May 1 against the winner of the East Stroudsburg/Edinboro match on Tuesday.
