Women's Tennis | 8/25/2026 12:00:00 PM
TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - After claiming their third title in four years last fall, Allegheny College secured the top spot in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) women's tennis preseason coaches' poll. This year's balloting, voted on by the PAC's 10 head coaches, and the Players to Watch List were released Tuesday.
The Gators, led by sixth-year head coach Dave Hayden, who was the 2025 PAC Coach of the Year, amassed nine first place votes and 73 points to earn the No. 1 slot in the 2026 poll.
For the fourth year in a row, Allegheny went 8-0 in PAC matches last fall, which ran their record to 32-0 in the conference regular season since rejoining the PAC in 2022. After earning the top seed in the PAC Tournament, the Gators swept Washington & Jefferson College 4-0 in the semifinals before defeating Grove City College 4-1 in the championship match to secure their second consecutive PAC crown. The victory also clinched a spot in the NCAA Tournament for Allegheny, who finished with a 16-7 overall record following a first-round loss in the Tournament against RPI.
Last year's PAC runner-up Grove City placed second in the balloting with the final first-place vote and 65 points. Franciscan University took third with 52 points, just in front of fourth place Washington & Jefferson College, who totaled 49 points, and Geneva College placed fifth with 40 points. Rounding out the poll was Saint Vincent College in sixth (33), Westminster College in seventh (31), Waynesburg University in eighth (17) and Thiel College (nine). Saint Francis University was not counted in the 2026 poll, but is represented by four players on the Watch List.
The 2026 season will be Saint Francis' first in the PAC, as the Red Wolves start conference play while reclassifying from Division I to Division III. Saint Francis, whose matches will not count in the conference standings during SFU's reclassifying process, kicks off the year Sept. 5th when the Red Wolves play at the IUP Invitational.
The 2026 Players to Watch list is marked by 13 All-PAC players from a year ago, including four who were First Team All-PAC in singles and two who earned First Team laurels in doubles. Highlighting the Players to Watch List is Allegheny sophomore Gabrielle Bassette, who was the Player and Newcomer of the Year in 2025. The sweep of the top awards made Bassette the second PAC player to win both honors since the conference started recognizing the top newcomer and first since Westminster College's Amanda Barrett earned both awards since the spring of 2021. She was also the first Allegheny player to be the league's Player of the Year and win Newcomer of the Year since the Gators returned to the PAC in 2022.
In leading the Gators to the PAC Championship, Bassette rolled through an undefeated regular season in singles, going 15-0, including a 7-0 mark in PAC regular season, on her way to a 20-5 record for the year. Coupled with her 22-8 mark in doubles action, Bassette's 42 combined wins last year equaled the Allegheny single-season combined wins record set originally in 1998-99 by Steph Stonemetz.
In addition to Bassette, Grove City sophomore Grace Stitt was also a First Team All-PAC player in singles and doubles last year. In her freshman season for the Wolverines, she posted 11 total victories, including nine in PAC matches.
The Players to Watch list also includes 17 members of the Fall 2025 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 10th and the six-team PAC Championship Tournament begins Tuesday, Oct. 13th. Semifinal matches will be Thursday, Oct. 15th with the PAC Championship match to be played Saturday, Oct. 17th. 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.
| 2026 PAC Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish) |
| School (first-place votes) |
Points |
2025-26 record (conference) |
| 1. Allegheny College (9) |
73 |
16-7 (8-0 PAC) |
| 2. Grove City College (1) |
65 |
13-4 (7-1 PAC) |
| 3. Franciscan University |
52 |
10-8 (6-2 PAC) |
| 4. Washington & Jefferson College |
49 |
14-6 (5-3 PAC) |
| 5. Geneva College |
40 |
7-8 (4-4 PAC) |
| 6. Saint Vincent College |
33 |
12-13 (3-5 PAC) |
| 7. Westminster College |
31 |
3-9 (2-6 PAC) |
| 8. Waynesburg University |
17 |
8-9 (1-7 PAC) |
| 9. Thiel College |
9 |
0-14 (0-8 PAC) |
| Saint Francis University |
--- |
16-9 (6-1 NEC) |
2026 PAC Women's Tennis Players to Watch
1=2025 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 (1/1) |
So. |
Miami, Fla./Miami Country Day School |
| Chanel Brun |
Fr. |
Aix-en-Provence, France/Fox Chapel |
| Giada Palmieri (2/HM) |
So. |
Berlin, Germany/Paulsen Gymnasium |
| Claire Terefe |
Fr. |
Dallas, Texas/Texas Online Preparatory |
| Franciscan University |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Jordan Beltavski (--/2) |
Sr. |
Chardon, Ohio/The Lyceum |
| Hazel Mistry |
Sr. |
Groves, Texas/Sabine Pass |
| Colette Park (--/2) |
So. |
Alexandria, Va./Seton Home Study |
| Sophia Pastura |
Jr. |
Cincinnati, Ohio/Seton |
| Elizabeth Swift |
Sr. |
Butler, Pa./Aquinas Academy |
| Geneva College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Chloe DeSanzo (1/2) |
Jr. |
Beaver, Pa./Beaver |
| Rachel Hodsden |
Sr. |
Fort Collins, Colo./ Rocky Mountain |
| Paige Phillips |
So. |
Monaca, Pa./Central Valley |
| Grove City College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Blaire Beatty (2/2) |
So. |
Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Bloomfield Christian |
| Reagan Dougherty |
Fr. |
Bradfordwoods, Pa./Eden Christian |
| Iris Kiehl (2/--) |
Jr. |
Warren, Pa./Warren |
| Grace Stitt (1/1) |
So. |
Gibsonia, Pa./Hampton |
| Grace Yurko (1/2) |
So. |
Reisterstown, Md./St. Paul's |
| Saint Francis University |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Sophia Cunningham |
Jr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon |
| Helena Lynn |
So. |
Bethlehem, Pa./Mother Divine Grace |
| Reagan Mangen |
Sr. |
Goshen, Ky./North Oldham |
| Morgan Tuffs |
Jr. |
Calgary, Alberta/Grandview Preparatory |
| Saint Vincent College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Sydney McWreath |
Jr. |
Washington, Pa./Trinity |
| Rachel Zgurich (HM/--) |
Sr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin |
| Thiel College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Alivia Fallon |
Jr. |
Mount Pleasant, Pa./Mount Pleasant |
| Makayla Flock |
Sr. |
Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Salem |
| Chloe Walton |
Jr. |
Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell |
| Emmalea Zummo |
Sr. |
Jeannette, Pa./Jeannette |
| Washington & Jefferson College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Maya Hamade (HM/HM) |
So. |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair |
| Claire Loomis (2/2) |
Sr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St Clair |
| Keiran Moorhead (HM/2) |
So. |
Canonsburg, Pa./Peters Township |
| Waynesburg University |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Celeste Matsaudza |
So. |
Boksburg, South Africa/St Dominic's Catholic School |
| Taylor Stephens |
So. |
Morgantown, W.Va./Trinity Christian |
| Julia Umshares |
Jr. |
Washington, Pa./Trinity |
| Westminster College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Megan Blasko |
So. |
Mercer, Pa./Pennsylvania Cyber Charter |
| Amayah Myricks |
Fr. |
Canton, Ohio/Jackson |
| Emma Overlingas |
Sr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin |