UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Maria Daciana Ciubotaru was tabbed as Penn State’s honoree on the 2026 Big Ten Women’s Tennis Players to Watch list on Monday. It is the second conference honor for the sophomore after being named Penn State’s recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award last season.
During the fall, Ciubotaru picked up four wins in singles and doubles. She was one of Penn State’s many standouts at the ITA Northeast Regional in Philadelphia. In singles, she advanced to the round of 16 with victories over Seton Hall’s Anastasia Sereda, 6-4, 6-0, and Delaware’s Paulina Jurkowska, 6-3, 6-3. Pairing with Brianna Baldi in doubles, she reached the quarterfinals after defeating Columbia’s Michelle Li and Margaret Hui, 8-4, Saint John’s’ Charlotta Buss and Giulia Bizzari, 8-6, and Rutgers’ Mai Nguyen and Naomi Karki, 8-4.
A native of Focsani, Romania, Ciubotaru joined the Nittany Lions in time for the 2025 spring semester. Her impact on the program was felt immediately with six singles and five doubles wins. Ciubotaru played a pivotal role in the team’s 4-3 triumph over No. 14 USC, winning a doubles match to help the Blue & White secure the point before clinching the dual win with a three-set victory on court six. Ciubotaru would also clinch the match against Princeton and earn a match-tying win against Old Dominion before the Nittany Lions prevailed over the eventual Sun Belt champions.
Penn State women’s tennis opens its spring season with a home doubleheader on Sunday, January 18 against Villanova at noon and Saint Francis at 5 p.m. Head Coach Alexandra McIntyre enters her seventh season leading the program in 2025-26 following her winningest season at the helm a season ago. The Nittany Lions finished No. 55 in the final ITA rankings. The team’s 14 wins were the most since the 2012-13 season.
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