TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - After winning the conference championship last fall in their first season back in the league, the Allegheny College women's tennis program was selected as the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) favorite heading into the 2023 season, according to the annual preseason coaches' poll. The results of this year's poll, voted on by the PAC's nine head coaches, were released with the PAC's Players to Watch List Thursday. 

Allegheny, led by third-year head coach Dave Hayden, was chosen first on seven ballots and garnered 63 total points to gain the top position in this year's poll.

The Gators returned to the PAC following a 38-year run as a founding member of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). Allegheny was a PAC member from 1958 through the spring of 1984 and reentered the PAC as its 11th full-time member on July 1, 2022. 

The Gators' first PAC championship came in thrilling fashion with a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over the two-time defending champion Franciscan University in the 2022 PAC Tournament Championship match held in Meadville. The second-seeded Barons held a 2-1 lead after doubles action before Allegheny took three of the first five single decisions to even the match at 4-4. The title came down to second singles, where Allegheny graduate Ella Swan claimed a 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 victory to secure the win for the Gators.

Hayden led Allegheny to the PAC title last fall and was named the conference's Coach of the Year following the season. It was the fourth time in his career he was selected for that honor after he was named the PAC Coach of the Year in 2016 and 2020-21 during his six-year stint as the head coach at Westminster College. The championship also sent the Gators to the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever and the program made history again with their first NCAA win, defeating Pitt-Greensburg 5-0 in the opening round before falling in round two against #5 Wesleyan.

Franciscan was picked second in this season's poll, picking up the other two first-place votes and 57 total points, while Grove City College was third with 50 points. They were followed in fourth place by Westminster with 43, Saint Vincent College in fifth (30), Geneva College and Washington & Jefferson College tied for sixth (29), Thiel College in eighth (13) and Waynesburg University in ninth (10). 

This season’s players to watch list includes 11 All-PAC players from last season, including both the PAC Player and Newcomer of the Year. The returning conference Player of the Year is Franciscan senior Maria Herrera (Houston, Texas/Clear Brook), who earned the award for the second consecutive season last year. She compiled a 20-3 overall singles record in 2022-23 and also went 15-6 in doubles play. Herrera posted an unblemished 8-0 mark in singles and doubles against PAC opponents and then went a combined 4-0 in the PAC Tournament, as she earned All-Tournament Team honors for the third consecutive year.

The returning Newcomer of the Year is Saint Vincent rising sophomore Carolina Walters (Latrobe, Pa./Homeschool). She rolled to a 15-3 record at #1 singles through her freshman season and added an impressive 13-4 slate in doubles competition. She won nine of her last 10 singles matches in the fall, including a 6-0, 6-0 victory in the first round of the PAC Tournament at Grove City, which helped Walters earn All-Tournament team distinction.

The Players to Watch list also includes 14 members of the Fall 2022 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. 

The league’s regular season concludes Saturday, October 14 with the six-team PAC Championship Tournament scheduled to get underway Tuesday, Oct. 17. Semifinal matches are slated for Thursday, Oct. 19 with the championship match to be played Saturday, Oct. 21. The top two seeds will receive quarterfinal byes. All matches will be hosted by the higher seed. 

This year’s tournament champion will secure the PAC’s automatic qualifying bid to the Division III Championships.  
 

2023 PAC Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish)
School (first-place votes)	Points	2022-23 record (conference)
1. Allegheny College (7)	63	19-5 (8-0 PAC)
2. Franciscan University (2)	57	11-8 (7-1 PAC)
3. Grove City College	50	12-5 (6-2 PAC)
4. Westminster College	43	16-5 (4-3 PAC)
5. Saint Vincent College	30	10-9 (3- PAC)
T-6. Geneva College	29	8-6 (3-5 PAC)
T-6. Washington & Jefferson College	29	3-9 (3-5 PAC)
8. Thiel College	13	3-11 (1-7 PAC)
9. Waynesburg University	10	1-10 (0-7 PAC)

2023 PAC Women's Tennis Players to Watch
1=2022 1st Team All-PAC; 2=2nd Team All-PAC; HM=Honorable Mention
Name (All-PAC Singles/All-PAC Doubles 

Allegheny College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Rei Etsumi	Fr.	Honolulu, Hawaii/President William McKinley
Emilia Grydnieva	Fr.	Kiev, Ukraine/Optima
Jean-Arlette Legrand (1/1)	Sr.	San Juan, Puerto Rico/Commonwealth Parkville
Maria Lounder (2/1)	So.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Moon Area
Sabrina Rodriguez (2/HM)	Jr.	Kissimmee, Fla./Professional and Technical

 

Franciscan University
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Claire Cardie (2/2)	So.	Dublin, Pa./Archbishop Wood
Olivia Colby (HM/1)	Jr.	Merrimac, Mass./Pentucket Regional
Maria Herrera (1/1)	Sr.	Houston, Texas/Clear Brook

 

Geneva College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Lauren Estes (1/HM)	So.	Chattanooga, Tenn./Grace Baptist
Delaney Winterhalter	Jr.	Carnegie, Pa./South Fayette

 

Grove City College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Alexis Chappel	Sr.	Prospect, Pa./Butler
Emily Ivory (2/2)	Jr.	Mars, Pa./Mars
Catherine Petrovich	Fr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./IMG Academy

 

Saint Vincent College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Abby Donnelly	Jr.	Washington, Pa./McGuffey
Lydia Lieb	Jr.	Dysart, Pa./Hollidaysburg
Emily Pierce	So.	Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe
Carolina Walters (1/1)	So.	Latrobe, Pa./Homeschool

   

Thiel College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Toby Atwood	So.	Kittanning, Pa./Armstrong
Payton Blankenbeckley	Sr.	Portsmouth, Ohio/Minford

   

Washington & Jefferson College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Nidhi Pulicherla (2/2)	Jr.	Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton

 

Waynesburg University
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Julia Corey	So.	Eighty Four, Pa./Ringgold

 

Westminster College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Gia Francisco (2/2)	Jr.	Canfield, Ohio/Canfield
Emma Overlingus	Fr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin