Women’s Tennis Opens 2026 Season with Home Doubleheader Against Villanova and Saint Francis

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women’s tennis team opens the 2026 season with a home doubleheader against Villanova and Saint Francis on Sunday, January 18 at the Indoor Tennis Center. The match against the Wildcats is slated for a noon start with the contest against the Red Flash primed for a 5 p.m. first serve. 

PREVIEWING 2026 

• Head Coach Alexandra McIntyre enters her seventh season leading the program. McIntyre was named ITA Northeast Region Coach of the Year following her winningest season at the helm a season ago. 

• Last season, the Nittany Lions finished No. 55 in the final ITA rankings and were ranked No. 1 in the Northeast region. The team’s 14 wins were the most since the 2012-13 season. 

• Senior Olivia Dorner is chasing 100 career victories in the Blue & White with 89, 41 singles and 48 doubles, to her name. Dorner was an All-Big Ten Second Team selection in 2025 after posting an 8-8 singles and 12-7 doubles record, mainly on court one. She was ranked No. 6 in the postseason ITA Northeast Regional singles rankings. 

• Dorner’s doubles partner and fellow senior Maiko Uchijima earned 15 victories in a fall campaign highlighted by a standout performance at the ITA Northeast Regional. Uchijima took home third in the singles competition while pairing with Dorner for a runner-up finish on the doubles side. She was named Big Ten Player of the Week for her efforts. Uchijima and Dorner won the doubles title at the event a season ago and finished 2025 as the No. 2 tandem in the region. The Tokyo, Japan native was ranked No. 15 in singles. 

• Sophomore Patricia Grigoras returns following a breakout freshman season that saw her tabbed to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team and ranked as the No. 8 singles player in the Northeast region by ITA. Grigoras and Jordina Cegarra earned the No. 8 spot in the postseason ITA Northeast Regional rankings for doubles. Grigoras picked up nine victories in the fall, reaching the singles quarterfinals and top 16 of doubles with Cegarra at the ITA Northeast Regional. 

• Sophomore Maria Daciana Ciubotaru was named a Big Ten Player to Watch ahead of the 2026 campaign following eight victories in the fall across singles and doubles. She advanced to the top 16 in singles at the ITA Northeast Regional. As a freshman, Ciubotaru won six singles and five doubles matches. 

• Penn State welcomed three newcomers ahead of the 2025-26 season in junior Maelie Monfils, sophomore Brianna Baldi and freshman Ansley Cox. Baldi put together a successful fall run, winning her flight at the Debbie Southern Fall Classic in addition to reaching the quarterfinals in both singles and doubles at the ITA Northeast Regional. Monfils and Cox paired for a doubles quarterfinals appearance at the ITA Northeast Regional. 

ACROSS THE NET 

Villanova 

• Villanova is coming off a 12-12 (4-1 BIG EAST) season that saw the Wildcats reach their first-ever BIG EAST Championship match. During its Big East Tournament run, VU defeated DePaul and UConn by 4-3 margins before ultimately falling to Xavier in a 4-0 decision. 

• The Wildcats return four of their top six singles competitors from a season ago in sophomore Olivia Corcoran, senior Maggie Gehrig, junior Jenna Stevens and junior Lauren Monti. Corcoran finished her freshman campaign on court two for both singles and doubles in 2025. 

• Villanova brought in three newcomers this year, including four-star freshman Riley Cicero and Michigan State transfer Olivia Kutlova, a sophomore. Freshman Alina Kornyeva rounds out the recruiting class. 

Saint Francis 

• Outside of traditional fall tournaments, Saint Francis played two dual matches in October. The Red Flash defeated Binghamton, 5-2, before falling to Buffalo, 6-1. 

• SFU earned the doubles point in both duals with the pairs of Gabriela Almanza and Kelly Dowuona and Sophia Cunningham and Emma Marais winning their matches in each contest. 

• Dasha Chichkina, the reigning NEC Rookie of the Year, owns the top spot in singles. She finished last season with a 24-8 record in singles and a 20-18 mark in doubles. 

• In 2025, Saint Francis advanced to the NEC Championship, closing the season with a 16-8 (7-1 NEC) record.  

SERIES HISTORY 

Villanova 

• The Nittany Lions defeated the Wildcats, 7-0, at home last year in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. 

Saint Francis 

• Penn State owns a 3-0 all-time record against Saint Francis with the most recent matchup coming a season ago. The Nittany Lions picked up a 7-0 victory in Happy Valley. 

• 2026 will be the fourth consecutive year Penn State hosts Saint Francis.