GREENVILLE, Pa. (pacathletics.org)--Following its run to claiming the program's first-ever Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament title, the Franciscan University women's tennis program has been selected as the league favorite in 2021, according to the conference's annual preseason coaches' poll. The results of this year's poll, voted on by the PAC's 10 head coaches, were announced with the PAC's Players to Watch List Friday afternoon.

Led by sixth-year head coach Scott Greve, Franciscan claimed seven first-place votes and 70 total points to top this year's poll. 

Franciscan, in its first year as a full member of the PAC, was the No. 2 seed in last spring's PAC Championship Tournament. Franciscan won a pair of doubles matches before earning wins at second, third and fourth singles, respectively, to claim a 5-4 win over No. 4 Washington & Jefferson College in the league's title match on April 24. Franciscan earned a 5-4 semifinal victory over No. 3 Grove City College on April 23 to advance to last year's title match. 

Franciscan claimed the PAC's automatic-qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championships with its conference title last spring. It was Franciscan's fifth appearance in the Division III Championships. 

W&J, led by second-year head coach Megan Foster, and Grove City, led by first-year head coach Nate Horner, tied for second in the preseason coaches' poll, with each program earning 59 total points. W&J claimed the final first-place vote. 

Westminster College registered 55 points to finish fourth while Geneva College was fifth (43). Saint Vincent College and Thiel College tied for sixth with 39 points. Waynesburg University was eighth (28). 

This season’s players to watch list includes four All-PAC First Team selections, eight All-PAC Second Team selections and seven All-PAC Honorable Mention selections from last spring. 

The players to watch list also includes 11 members of the 2020-21 PAC Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes on varsity sports teams who have earned a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.6 or higher on a 4.0 scale during their semester of competition. 

For a second-straight year, W&J senior Maya Krishnasamy (Ventura, Calif. | Ventura) earned recognition from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) as a member of the 2020-21 NCAA Division III Academic All-District^® At-Large First Team. She was one of 14 student-athletes and the only women's tennis student-athlete named as a District IV representative for the CoSIDA Academic All-America^® program. Krishnasamy, a two-time PAC Player of the Year, was the 2019 PAC Championship Tournament's Most Outstanding Player and was named to the PAC All-Tournament Team in both 2019 and 2020-21. She helped lead W&J to its first-ever PAC women's tennis team championship in 2019.

The league’s regular season concludes Wednesday, October 13 with the six-team PAC Championship Tournament scheduled to get underway Tuesday, Oct. 19. The semifinals and title match are slated for Friday-Saturday, Oct. 22-23. The top two seeds will receive quarterfinal byes. The semifinals and title match will be hosted by W&J at its on-campus Janet Swanson Tennis Center, which has served as the home site for the Presidents’ tennis teams since 2015. 

This year’s tournament champion will secure the PAC’s automatic qualifying bid to the Division III Championships. Team selections for the Division III Championships will be announced Monday, May 9, 2022. The first round of the Division III Championships is slated for Thursday, May 12. 
 

2021 PAC Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish)
School (first-place votes)	Points	2020-21 record (PAC)
1. Franciscan University (7)	70	8-3 (6-1)
T-2. Washington & Jefferson College (1)	59	4-3 (3-2)
T-2. Grove City College	59	7-3 (6-1)
4. Westminster College	55	7-2 (7-1)
5. Geneva College	43	4-5 (4-4)
T-6. Saint Vincent College	39	1-5 (1-5)
T-6. Thiel College	39	3-6 (3-5)
8. Waynesburg University	28	1-6 (1-6)

2021 PAC Women's Tennis Players to Watch    

Franciscan
Name	Yr.	Hometown | High School
Olivia Colby	Fr.	Merrimac, Mass. | Pentucket Regional
Haley Davinsizer	Jr.	Cranberry, Pa. | Seneca Valley
Maria Herrara	So.	Houston, Texas | Clear Brook
Caroline Picard	Jr.	Mobile, Ala. | McGill-Toolen Catholic
Zoey Stapleton	Sr.	Palmyra, Pa. | Bishop McDevitt

 

Geneva
Name	Yr.	Hometown | High School
Kaylee McCall	Sr.	Bemus Point, N.Y. | Maple Grove
Mady Paquet	Sr.	Ellsworth, Wis. | Ellsworth

 

Grove City
Name	Yr.	Hometown | High School
Logan Fuss	Jr.	Grove City, Pa. | Grove City
Alexis Chappel	So.	Prospect, Pa. | Butler

 

Saint Vincent
Name	Yr.	Hometown | High School
Angela Popovich	Jr.	Greensburg, Pa. | Hempfield
Maura Skelley	Sr.	Altoona, Pa. | Altoona

   

Thiel
Name	Yr.	Hometown | High School
Payton Blankenbeckley	So.	Portsmouth, Ohio | Minford
Sarah Haritos	So.	Wilmington, Del. | Concord
Natalie Zgurich	Jr.	Pittsburgh, Pa. | Baldwin

   

W&J
Name	Yr.	Hometown | High School
Elizabeth Conlon	So.	Renfrew, Pa. | Knoch
Isabella Goldman	Jr.	Pittsburgh, Pa. | Upper St. Clair
Maya Krishnasamy	Sr.	Ventura, Calif. | Ventura
Nidhi Pulicherla	Fr.	Chandler, Ariz. | Hamilton

 

Waynesburg
Name	Yr.	Hometown | High School
Kyleigh Schmidt	Sr.	Pittsburgh, Pa. | Baldwin
Hayley Sweeney	Jr.	Johnstown, Pa. | Richland
Madison Trent	Jr.	Shanksville, Pa. | Shanksville-Stonycreek

 

Westminster
Name	Yr.	Hometown | High School
Caroline Fox	So.	Acton, Calif. | Vasquez
Sabrina Slagle	Jr.	Upper St. Clair, Pa. | Upper St. Clair
Sara Small	Sr.	Beaver, Pa. | Beaver
Emma Sukal	Fr.	Baldwin, Pa. | Baldwin