TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Coming off their second consecutive championship, Allegheny College was voted as the front-runner to claim the 2025 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) men's tennis championship according to the conference's preseason coaches' poll, which was released Thursday alongside the league's Players to Watch list.

The annual preseason poll collects votes from each of the conference's nine programs.

Allegheny, who went undefeated for a second straight year in PAC regular season matches last spring, had eight first-place votes and 64 total points to earn the top spot in this year's preseason poll. Coming in second was Grove City College, who amassed 54 points, just in front of third place Saint Vincent College with their first-place vote and 52 points. Franciscan University ranked fourth in the polling with 41 points, followed by Washington & Jefferson College in fifth (37), Geneva College (30), Westminster College (22), Waynesburg University (16) and Thiel College (8).

Head coach Dave Hayden, who was the PAC Coach of the Year for the second year in a row, guided the Gators' program to a 16-6 overall record a year ago and a perfect 8-0 mark in league action last season. After posting a 5-1 win over Franciscan in the PAC Tournament semifinals, Allegheny topped Grove City 5-1 in the title match to repeat as champions, the sixth conference crown in program history. That also gave Allegheny a bid to the NCAA Tournament, where the Gators swept Messiah College 5-0 in the opening round before falling to seventh-ranked Middlebury College in the second round.

Leading the Gators in their attempt to win a third PAC championship in a row is senior Anton Hedlund, who also highlights the Players to Watch list. Like his team and coach, Hedlund was also a repeat winner, claiming his second consecutive PAC Player of the Year honor, the first to earn consecutive awards since Jonathan Pritchard from Saint Vincent won three in a row from 2016-18. Hedlund compiled a 20-5 singles record last season and won 15 straight matches, including an undefeated 8-0 singles mark against PAC competition.

In addition, he also went 24-8 in doubles, highlighted by a 21-7 record with junior David Rodriguez, as the duo earned First Team All-PAC in doubles play. Also a First Team All-PAC selection in singles last year after he finished 6-0 in conference and 17-6 overall, Rodriguez is on the Players to Watch list this spring as well.

Also on the Players to Watch list is Franciscan sophomore Aaron Heinlein, the second Baron in the last three seasons to earn PAC Newcomer of the Year. Heinlein was 8-7 last season in singles, playing mostly at No. 2 singles, which included a 5-2 mark in PAC matches. In addition to earning First Team All-PAC honors in singles play, Heinlein was also voted First Team All-PAC in doubles with sophomore Christopher Yvars after the tandem went 5-1 in PAC matches as part of an 11-4 record overall.

Led by Hedlund, Rodriguez and Heinlein, the Players to Watch list is highlighted by 16 returning All-PAC performers from 2023-24, including six players who earned All-PAC First Team in either singles or doubles.

The league's six-team championship tournament will once again feature a team championship bracket format, including quarterfinals, semifinals and a championship match contested in late April. 

The league’s regular season is scheduled to conclude Saturday, April 20 with this year’s PAC Championship Tournament quarterfinals slated for Tuesday, April 22. The semifinals are scheduled for Thursday, April 24 with the championship match taking place on Saturday, April 26. All matches will be hosted by the higher-seeded schools at each stage of the tournament.

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

2025 PAC Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll
School (first-place votes)	Points	2023-24 Records
1. Allegheny (8)	64	16-6, 8-0 PAC
2. Grove City	54	13-7, 7-1 PAC
3. Saint Vincent (1)	52	15-7, 5-3 PAC
4. Franciscan	41	8-11, 5-3 PAC
5. W&J	37	7-10, 4-4 PAC
6. Geneva	30	7-6, 4-4 PAC
7. Westminster	22	2-10, 2-6 PAC
8. Waynesburg	16	2-11, 1-7 PAC
9. Thiel	8	1-9, 0-8 PAC

2025 PAC Men's Tennis Players to Watch (2024 All-PAC Honors)

Allegheny
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Javier Bejarano Jimenez	So.	El Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain/IES Padre Luis Coloma
Anton Hedlund (1st-Singles/1st-Doubles)	Sr.	Hovas, Sweden/Katrinelundsgymnasiet
Kristian Janci	Fr.	Kysucké Nové Mesto, Slovakia/ The British International School Shanghai
Levente Mihaly	Fr.	Békéscsaba, Hungary/Békéscsabai SZC Széchenyi István
David Rodriguez (1st-Singles/1st-Doubles)	Jr.	St. Ann's, Trinidad & Tobago/Fatima College

 

Franciscan
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Aaron Heinlein (1st-Singles/1st-Doubles)	So.	Erie, Pa./McDowell
Aidan Palladino (HM-Singles/2nd-Doubles)	Grad.	Danbury, Conn./Regina Caeli Academy
Christopher Yvars (1st-Doubles)	So.	Bow, N.H./Bow

   

Geneva
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Thayne Bodenmiller (HM-Doubles)	So.	Westfield, N.Y./Westfield Academy and Central School
Ben Busler	Fr.	Butler, Pa./Butler
David Clark (HM-Doubles)	Sr.	Monroeville, Pa./Gateway
Braiden Smalley (1st-Singles/2nd-Doubles)	Jr.	Gibsonia, Pa./PA Cyber Charter

 

Grove City
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Isaac DeMan (HM-Singles)	Jr.	Rockford, Mich./Rockford
Benjamin Jones (1st-Singles/2nd-Doubles)	Jr.	Clayton, N.C./Clayton
Allen Morris	Fr.	Perry, Ohio/Perry

 

Saint Vincent
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Jack Citrone (2nd-Singles)	Sr.	York, Pa./West York
Matthew Sadusky (HM-Singles)	Sr.	Dover, Del./Dover
Braden Yokopenic (2nd-Singles/2nd-Doubles)	So.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin

 

Thiel
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Nathaniel Udell	Sr.	Meadowbrook, Pa./Abington
Bret Vilage	So.	North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin

   

W&J
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Jackson Akers (HM-Singles)	Jr.	Logan, W.Va./Logan
Alex Duing (HM-Singles)	Jr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./South Park
Nick Kubik	So.	Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillian
Abhinav Yarramaneni (HM-Singles/HM-Doubles)	Sr.	Mountain View, Calif./Los Altos

 

Waynesburg
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Ethan Clawson	Fr.	Washington, Pa./Trinity
Sam Norris	Fr.	Natrona Heights, Pa./Highlands

 

Westminster
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Ryan Crissman	Jr.	Allison Park, Pa./Shaler
William Nebiolo	Fr.	Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler
Dylan Weiss	Sr.	South Park, Pa./South Park