TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - The Allegheny College women's tennis program was chosen as the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) favorite heading into the 2024 season, according to the annual preseason coaches' poll. The results of this year's poll, voted on by the PAC's nine head coaches, and the Players to Watch List were released Wednesday. 

Allegheny, led by fourth-year head coach Dave Hayden, was chosen first by six of the coaches and totaled 62 total points to gain the top position in this year's poll.

The Gators, who won the 2022 PAC title in their first year back in the conference, went 8-0 in the regular season to earn the top seed in the 2023 conference tournament, but Allegheny's repeat hopes were thwarted by Grove City College. The second-seeded Wolverines knocked off the Gators 5-2 in the title match to win the program's 31st conference crown and first since the 2018-19 season. The victory was fueled by senior Janel McCray (Jessup, Md./Hammond) and sophomore Peyton Joines (Glen Rock, Pa./Susquehannock), who were double-winners with triumphs in doubles and singles. Both McCray and Joines return this year to lead the Wolverines.

With the win, Grove City and head coach Nate Horner, the 2023 PAC Coach of the Year, earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they fell in the opening round to North Central to finish with a 14-6 overall record.

The defending champion Grove City placed second in this year's preseason voting with 56 points, as well as two first-place votes. Slotting in third was Franciscan University with 52 points and the final first-place vote. Fourth place went to Westminster College with 39 points, followed by Washington & Jefferson College in fifth (31), Saint Vincent College in sixth (28), Geneva College in seventh (26), Waynesburg University (18) and Thiel College (12).

This season’s players to watch list includes 17 All-PAC players from last season, including five who were First Team All-PAC in singles and four who earned First Team in doubles.

In addition to Grove City's McCray and Joines, two others highlighting this year's Players to Watch list earned First Team All-PAC in both singles and doubles, including Franciscan senior Olivia Colby (Merrimac, Mass./Pentucket Regional) and Westminster senior Gia Francisco (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield). Colby posted a 12-3 singles record playing at #2, including a 6-1 mark in conference matches, while going a perfect 7-0 in PAC play on her way to a 13-2 overall doubles mark.

Francisco helped the Titans reach the PAC Tournament semifinals last fall. She posted four PAC singles wins in the regular season, as well as a 6-2 conference record at first doubles before adding two more doubles wins in the conference tournament.

The Players to Watch list also includes 13 members of the Fall 2022 PAC Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes on varsity sports teams who 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 12 with the six-team PAC Championship Tournament scheduled to get underway Tuesday, Oct. 15. Semifinal matches are slated for Thursday, Oct. 17 with the championship match to be played Saturday, Oct. 19. 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.  
 

2024 PAC Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish)
School (first-place votes)	Points	2023-24 record (conference)
1. Allegheny College (6)	62	11-11 (8-0 PAC)
2. Grove City College (2)	56	14-6 (7-1 PAC)
3. Franciscan University (1)	52	10-11 (6-2 PAC)
4. Westminster College	39	11-9 (5-3 PAC)
5. Washington & Jefferson College	31	5-7 (4-4 PAC)
6. Saint Vincent College	28	12-6 (3-5 PAC)
7. Geneva College	26	7-8 (2-6 PAC)
8. Waynesburg University	18	1-12 (0-8 PAC)
9. Thiel College	12	2-11 (1-7 PAC)

2024 PAC Women's Tennis Players to Watch
1=2023 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
Omega Ba	So.	Orlando, Fla./Edgewater
Evie Ellenberger	Fr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair
Rei Etsumi (2/2)	So.	Honolulu, Hawaii/President William McKinley
Emiliia Grydnieva (1/2)	So.	Kyiv, Ukraine/Optima
Maria Lounder (-/2)	Jr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Moon Area
Julia Müsseler	Fr.	Munich, Germany/Käthe-Kollwitz-Gymnasium
Nicole Serna Cassan	Fr.	Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico/ Grandview Preparatory (Fla.)

 

Franciscan University
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Jordan Beltavski (HM/HM)	So.	Chardon, Ohio/The Lyceum
Claire Cardie (2/2)	Jr.	Dublin, Pa./Archbishop Wood
Olivia Colby (1/1)	Sr.	Merrimac, Mass./Pentucket Regional
Kina Ehlers	Jr.	Westerville, Ohio/Big Walnut

 

Geneva College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Chloe DeSanzo	Fr.	Beaver, Pa./Beaver
Lauren Estes (2/HM)	Jr.	Chattanooga, Tenn./Grace Baptist
Delaney Winterhalter (HM/HM)	Sr.	Carnegie, Pa./South Fayette

 

Grove City College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Peyton Joines (HM/HM)	So.	Glen Rock, Pa./Susquehannock
Janel McCray (2/1)	Sr.	Jessup, Md./Hammond
Anna Poranski	Fr.	Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep

 

Saint Vincent College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Abby Donnelly (-/HM)	Sr.	Washington, Pa./McGuffey
Isabella Lane	Grad.	Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell
Carolina Walters (1/HM)	Jr.	Latrobe, Pa./Homeschooled

   

Thiel College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Toby Atwood (HM/-)	Jr.	Kittanning, Pa./Armstrong
Emily Peters	Sr.	Ravenna, Ohio/Ravenna

   

Washington & Jefferson College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Mackenzie Gumto	Fr.	Renfrew, Pa./Knoch
Emma Humphrey	Sr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills
Jaelyn Kennedy	Sr.	Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove
Claire Loomis	So.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St Clair
Nidhi Pulicherla (1/2)	Sr.	Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton

 

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

 

Westminster College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Gia Francisco (1/1)	Sr.	Canfield, Ohio/Canfield
Emma Overlingas (2/2)	So.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin
Christine Rossi (2/1)	Jr.	Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson
Emma Sukal	Sr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin
Ryleigh Valone (-/HM)	Sr.	Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy