Women's Tennis | 5/8/2026 4:20:00 PM

BALTIMORE, Md. (pacathletics.org) - The Allegheny College women's tennis team fell to No. 60 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 4-0, in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Division III Championships Friday morning at the Johns Hopkins University regional.

Appearing in the national tournament for the third time in the last four seasons as Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) champions, the Gators (16-7) weren't able to upset the Engineers (13-6), who qualified for nationals as winners of the Liberty League.

Although the Gators were held without a point on the scoreboard, the top half of the lineup challenged RPI in the singles portion of the match. In the No. 1 match, Allegheny freshman Gabrielle Bassette (Miami, Fla./Miami Country Day School) won her first set against Nicole Ridenour. Bassette, the 2025-26 PAC Player and Newcomer of the Year, beat Ridenour, 6-2, and was the only Gator to take a set from the Engineers.

In the second singles match, junior Emiliia Grydnieva (Kyiv, Ukraine/Optima) won four consecutive games and held a 4-2 lead over Gauri Muliyil, before dropping the first set, 6-4. First-year Giada Palmieri (Berlin, Germany/Paulsen Gymnasium) also played a close set and took three games from RPI's Kayla Wheeler.

Allegheny finished the season with a 16-7 overall record, the third time in the last four seasons the Gators won at least 16 matches.

Contributed by Allegheny Athletic Communications