Women's Tennis | 8/22/2025 11:00:00 AM
TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Coming off their second title in three years, the Allegheny College women's tennis program was selected as the top team in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) in 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 Friday.
Fifth-year Allegheny head coach Dave Hayden and the Gators secured eight of nine first-place votes to score 64 points and earn the No. 1 position in the 2025 poll.
Allegheny went 8-0 in PAC matches last year, which ran their record to 24-0 in the conference regular season since rejoining the PAC in 2022. As the top seed in the PAC Tournament, the Gators swept Westminster College 4-0 in the semifinals before outlasting sixth-seeded Franciscan University 4-3 in the championship match to secure their second PAC crown in three seasons. The win also sent Allegheny into the NCAA Tournament, where a setback in the opening round against Ohio Northern University gave the program a final record of 18-8 for the season.
Grove City College was second in the balloting with the final first-place vote and 55 points, followed by 2024 PAC Coach of the Year Tom Costello and Franciscan in third with 48 points. Fourth place went to Washington & Jefferson College with 39 points, just ahead of fifth-place Saint Vincent College with 37. Completing the polling was Westminster in sixth (31), Geneva College in seventh (31), Waynesburg University in eighth (13) and Thiel College (11).
The 2025 Players to Watch list is highlighted by 14 All-PAC players from last season, including five who earned First Team All-PAC in singles and five who played to First Team laurels in doubles. Both major award winners from last fall return to highlight the Players to Watch List, including Saint Vincent senior Carolina Walters and Geneva sophomore Chloe DeSanzo.
Walters, the 2022 PAC Newcomer of the Year, added the Player of the Year honor to her collection last fall. Playing in the No. 1 singles and doubles spot for the duration of the season, she closed last year with a perfect 18-0 singles mark, the first player in SVC history to finish a season unbeaten having played in at least 10 matches. Now with a 46-6 career singles record, Walters was just the second Saint Vincent player ever to earn the top PAC honor and first since Alexis Cup in 2010.
DeSanzo was the initial player from Geneva to be recognized as the top first-year in conference history. She played first singles and first doubles through her freshman year, posting a 10-3 singles mark, including 5-3 in league action. In addition, she teamed with Geneva senior Lauren Estes to form the top doubles duo for the GTs and they finished with a 6-2 record in PAC matches as part of their 11-2 overall mark.
Also highlighting the top players list is Allegheny junior Emiliia Grydnieva, a First Team All-PAC selection and the PAC Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. In the title match against Franciscan, Grydnieva scored a win in doubles and then her 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 (7-4) marathon win at first singles was the deciding point in the Gators' championship victory.
The Players to Watch list also includes 18 members of the Fall 2024 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 conference's regular season is scheduled to be completed Saturday, October 11th and the six-team PAC Championship Tournament begins Tuesday, Oct. 14th. Semifinal matches will be Thursday, Oct. 16th with the PAC Championship match to be played Saturday, Oct. 18th. 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.
| 2025 PAC Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish) |
| School (first-place votes) |
Points |
2024-25 record (conference) |
| 1. Allegheny College (8) |
64 |
18-8 (8-0 PAC) |
| 2. Grove City College (1) |
55 |
11-5 (7-1 PAC) |
| 3. Franciscan University |
48 |
10-11 (4-4 PAC) |
| 4. Washington & Jefferson College |
39 |
7-8 (4-4 PAC) |
| 5. Saint Vincent College |
37 |
18-4 (5-3 PAC) |
| 6. Westminster College |
31 |
8-4 (5-3 PAC) |
| 7. Geneva College |
26 |
8-7 (2-6 PAC) |
| 8. Waynesburg University |
13 |
2-12 (0-8 PAC) |
| 9. Thiel College |
11 |
2-12 (1-7 PAC) |
2025 PAC Women's Tennis Players to Watch
1=2024 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 |
| Gabrielle Bassette |
Fr. |
Miami, Fla./Miami Country Day School |
| Rei Etsumi (2/2) |
Jr. |
Honolulu, Hawaii/President William McKinley |
| Emiliia Grydnieva (1/HM) |
Jr. |
Kyiv, Ukraine/Optima |
| Maria Lounder (2/-) |
Sr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Moon Area |
| Giada Palmieri |
Fr. |
Berlin, Germany/Paulsen Gymnasium |
| Franciscan University |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Jordan Beltavski (HM/1) |
Jr. |
Chardon, Ohio/The Lyceum |
| Claire Cardie (1/1) |
Sr. |
Dublin, Pa./Archbishop Wood |
| Kina Ehlers (1/1) |
Sr. |
Westerville, Ohio/Big Walnut |
| Lucy Rochat (-/HM) |
So. |
Sabinal, Texas/Mason |
| Geneva College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Chloe DeSanzo (1/1) |
So. |
Beaver, Pa./Beaver |
| Lauren Estes (HM/2) |
Sr. |
Chattanooga, Tenn./Grace Baptist |
| Grove City College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Blaire Beatty |
Fr. |
Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Bloomfield Christian |
| Peyton Joines (2/2) |
Sr. |
Glen Rock, Pa./Susquehannock |
| Iris Kiehl |
So. |
Warren, Pa./Warren |
| Grace Stitt |
Fr. |
Gibsonia, Pa./Hampton |
| Grace Yurko |
Fr. |
Reisterstown, Md./St. Paul's |
| Saint Vincent College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Sydney McWreath |
So. |
Washington, Pa./Trinity |
| Caroline O'Connor |
Sr. |
Irwin, Pa./Oakland Catholic |
| Emily Pierce (-/HM) |
Sr. |
Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe |
| Carolina Walters (1/-) |
Sr. |
Latrobe, Pa./Homeschooled |
| Rachel Zgurich |
Jr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin |
| Thiel College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Mila Brdar |
Sr. |
White Oak, Pa./McKeesport |
| Alivia Fallon |
So. |
Mount Pleasant, Pa./Mount Pleasant |
| Megan Harding |
Sr. |
Sharon, Pa./Sharon |
| Washington & Jefferson College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Paisley Cole |
So. |
Smyrna, Del./Smyrna |
| Mackenzie Gumto |
So. |
Renfrew, Pa./Knoch |
| Maya Hamade |
Fr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair |
| Claire Loomis (HM/1) |
Jr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St Clair |
| Keiran Moorhead |
Fr. |
Canonsburg, Pa./Peters Township |
| Waynesburg University |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Alli Bailey |
Sr. |
Mount Pleasant, Pa./Mount Pleasant |
| Julia Corey |
Sr. |
Eighty Four, Pa./Ringgold |
| Westminster College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Grace Askey |
Sr. |
Dubois, Pa./Jeff Tech |
| Emma Overlingas (HM/HM) |
Jr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin |
| Christine Rossi |
Sr. |
Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson |