PACWEST WOMEN’S TENNIS PRESEASON POLL
	TEAM	POINTS	2021 RECORD
1.	Hawai`i Pacific (12)	207	9-4
2.	Azusa Pacific (3)	193	16-3
3.	Biola	173	13-8
4.	Point Loma	149	7-9
5.	Concordia	146	14-5
6.	Academy of Art	136	5-7
7.	Fresno Pacific	127	7-10
8.	MSU Denver	111	14-10
9.	Cal State LA	104	DNP
10.	Hawai`i Hilo	94	8-6
11.	Colorado Mesa	74	12-13
12.	Stanislaus State	59	DNP
13.	Dominican	53	2-11
14.	Holy Names	35	DNP
15.	Chaminade	19	0-8
First-place votes in parenthesis

IRVINE, Calif. – Defending NCAA West Region Champion Hawai`i Pacific and defending PacWest Champion Azusa Pacific split the first-place votes in the women’s tennis preseason poll with the Sharks earning the edge to be the PacWest preseason favorite as the 2022 season gets under way this week.
 
Hawai`i Pacific and Azusa Pacific faced each other three times last year with Azusa Pacific winning the first two meetings, including the PacWest Championship Match, while the Sharks won the final meeting of the season in the West Regional final to earn a spot in the NCAA National Championships. This year, both teams bring back strong teams as they compete for the PacWest and West Region titles again along with 13 other PacWest teams.
 
The Sharks return all but one player from their roster last season as they begin their quest for a third PacWest title. Marleen Tilgner went 9-1 at No. 1 singles last year, including a pair of wins against the PacWest Player of the Year. Elodie Busson was the PacWest Player of the Year in 2019 and is getting set to play her fourth season at Hawai`i Pacific. The Sharks also return Mihoki Miyahara, who had one of the key singles victories in the regional final, winning eight games in a row at No. 3 singles to close the match.
 
Hawai`i Pacific has also added to the top of its already stacked lineup with Shaline Pipa joining the team. The freshman reached a career high WTA ranking of 1045 in 2018. She played most of her professional career on clay courts, but did earn seven professional wins on hard courts. Valentina Mokrova and Marta Ruszczynska are also back as the Sharks try to go even farther than their quarterfinal run last year.
 
Azusa Pacific lost its top three players from last year, but the Cougars have reloaded their roster with some new faces and as well as the return of April Wong, who served as the team’s assistant coach last year, as they begin their title defense. Nora Liga transferred from Lynn to Azusa Pacific and won the ITA Fall West Regional at Fresno Pacific without dropping a set before the final, where she beat No. 1 seed Colbeyshae Emery in a match tiebreaker. The Cougars also return Madison Kane, who had a 12-5 record last year and will likely move up in Azusa Pacific’s lineup for her sophomore season.
 
Coming off a historic season reaching the NCAA postseason for the first time, Biola is picked third in the preseason poll and the Eagles return their entire lineup from last season. Emery has firmly established herself as one of the best players in the PacWest and will occupy the No. 1 position for Biola as the Eagles get ready for another run to the NCAA West Regional. Mary Brascia, who reached the regional quarterfinals in the fall, returns for the Eagles after recording a 14-2 record in singles last season.
 
Point Loma is picked fourth in the preseason poll after the Sea Lions put together an impressive performance at the ITA Fall West Regional. Arianna Audelo is the new No. 1 singles player after coming to Point Loma from Hacienda Heights. She made a run to the semifinals of the fall tournament where she eventually lost a dramatic tiebreaker to No. 1 seed Emery, 6-4, 7-6(9). Angelique Friedrich played No. 1 singles last year and has already started her season with a win over an NCAA Division I opponent, earning a 7-6(2), 7-6(6) win against Cal State Fullerton. Along with the addition of Audelo, the Sea Lions lineup will include five other players that were in last year’s lineup that contended close matches against Hawai`i Pacific, Concordia and Biola.
 
Concordia had the PacWest’s second-best record last year as the Eagles reached the NCAA West Regional for the first time in program history. After losing some key players from the lineup to graduation, PacWest Coach of the Year Jonathan Sanchez has brought in a large freshman class to keep the momentum going. Heather Richards will provide some key leadership for the team as an experienced returner. She reached the quarterfinals at the fall regional before falling to the eventual champion.
 
Academy of Art has reached the PacWest Championship Match in the past and is looking to return to that level, and the Urban Knights have put together a young team that has a lot of promise for the upcoming season. The entire lineup is comprised of underclassmen, including Sofia Ragona, who was the team’s No. 1 player last year. She went 8-2 at the top position for the Urban Knights, and this fall she reached the semifinals of the ITA Fall West Regional.
 
Fresno Pacific is picked seventh in the preseason poll followed by MSU Denver. The Sunbirds return their entire lineup after taking sixth place in the PacWest last year. It was the Roadrunners who beat FPU in the fifth-place match as MSU Denver won the back draw in its first year in the PacWest. Fresno Pacific has added freshman Elise Leik, who will add some depth to the lineup, helping the bottom half to be able to win more points. Meanwhile, the Roadrunners return Gala Castello, who won 13 singles matches last year.
 
Cal State LA is picked No. 9 after skipping the 2021 season as Richard Gallien takes over as head coach for the Golden Eagles. Hawai`i Hilo is selected in the tenth spot, while Colorado Mesa is No. 11 in the preseason poll. Both teams return five of their starters from last year’s singles lineups.
 
Stanislaus State returns to action this year and is picked No. 12 in the preseason poll ahead of Dominican, Holy Names and Chaminade. These teams will have to fight to earn their spot in the PacWest Championships with only the top-12 teams earning a berth into the tournament in Surprise, Arizona, in April.
 
The PacWest season started this week with the exception of the two Colorado programs that played counting matches in the fall. Azusa Pacific and Point Loma both opened the season against NCAA Division I Cal State Fullerton, and most of the rest of the conference will start play this weekend. The first match between two PacWest teams is tomorrow as Academy of Art plays at Dominican. Then on Saturday, Fresno Pacific will play at Azusa Pacific, which won last year’s meeting between the two teams, 4-3.
 
On February 11-14, seven teams PacWest teams will be in Kailua, Hawai`i for a preview of the PacWest Championships as Azusa Pacific, Biola, Dominican and Concordia join the three Hawai`i programs for four packed days of matches between PacWest teams. The final match of the regular season will be on April 18 when Holy Names visits Fresno Pacific just ahead of the start of the PacWest Championships, which return to the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Club for the ninth year in a row.
 
15 PACWEST PLAYERS TO WATCH
 
Sofia Ragona, Academy of Art: Ragona is one of seven players returning to the PacWest that was the No. 1 singles player for their team in 2021. She went 8-2 last year including a stretch of 12-consecutive sets won, beating No. 1 players from five PacWest schools and an NCAA Division I opponent during that stretch. She earned first-team All-PacWest recognition last year and could win her third All-PacWest singles honor this season.
 
Nora Liga, Azusa Pacific: Liga transferred to Azusa Pacific after helping Lynn reach the NCAA Championship match in 2019 as she went undefeated in singles. She is now ranked No. 3 in the nation after advancing to the ITA Fall National Championships, where she was a semifinalist. Liga has big shoes to fill with the Cougars missing their top-3 singles players from last year’s title run, but with wins over Ragona and Emery this fall, she has shown her ability to compete with some of the best players in the PacWest.
 
Gaby Carvajal, Biola: Carvajal was a key part of Biola’s success early in the season, making a strong start to her freshman campaign before moving up to the No. 2 spot in the Eagles’ singles lineup. Injuries later in the season kept her out of most of the PacWest Championships, but with a season under her belt now, Carvajal is poised to be a key part of Biola’s lineup as the Eagles look to return to the NCAA West Regional.
 
Chelsey Ruiz, Cal State LA: Ruiz is one of four players for the Golden Eagles returning from the team place fifth at the 2019 PacWest Championships. She had an 8-6 record that year, but hasn’t played a duel match in collegiate tennis since the 2020 season was interrupted.  Cal State LA is picked ninth in the preseason poll, but with a new coach and three years having passed since the last time the Golden Eagles were in Surprise, anything is possible this season.
 
Salamasina Te`i, Chaminade: Te`i won a pair of matches against College of Idaho in 2019 while playing No. 2 singles for the Silverswords. She also won the first set in an unfinished match against Dominican at the PacWest Championships last year. The O`ahu native adds key experience to the Silverswords’ roster as they try to earn one of the 12 bids to get back to the PacWest Championships.
 
Makenna Livingston, Colorado Mesa: During the ITA Fall West Regional, Livingston earned a pair of hard-fought wins against returning players from Academy of Art to make it into the round of 16. As an incoming freshman for the Mavericks, which return five starters, she adds a lot of potential for Colorado Mesa.
 
Alicia Del Rey, Concordia: Del Rey joins Concordia from Switzerland and could make an immediate impact during her freshman season. She won her first-round singles match during the fall tournament in straight sets and is one of three freshmen that the Eagles have added to the roster for this season.
 
Audrey Rafols, Dominican: Rafols could be an All-PacWest player during her freshman season at Dominican. She already has made an impressive start to her collegiate career by reaching the round of 16 at the ITA Fall West Regional before she took a set off of No. 2 seed Ragona. She is an 8 on the UTR rating system and is ranked No. 726 among college tennis players across all divisions.
 
Lea Falentin, Fresno Pacific: Falentin had an impressive freshman season that included nine singles victories at the top-2 spots on the lineup, including a win at No. 1 against Dominican. Mariia Borodii has the Sunbirds’ No. 1 singles position to start the season, but the pairing swapped spots in the lineup twice last season.
 
Hikari Osaki, Hawai`i Hilo: Osaki finished last season as the Vulcans’ No. 1 singles player after playing at the No. 2 slot at points during the season. She took Tilgner to a tiebreaker in their one meeting last year and also played a memorable match tiebreaker against Busson before eventually falling 20-18. Her ability to contend against players of that caliber makes her a big strength at the top of Hawai`i Hilo’s lineup.
 
Elodie Busson, Hawai`i Pacific: Busson proved her willingness to do whatever it takes to help the team win by playing the No. 2 singles position despite being the reigning PacWest Player of the Year, and Busson was dominant in that position. She is an unpredictable innovator on the court, but the results speak for themselves as she went 11-1 at No. 2 singles last year, finishing the year on a nine-match winning streak. She is must-watch tennis every time she steps on the court.
 
Deepalakshmi Vanaraja, Holy Names: Vanaraja comes to Holy Names from Chennai, India, where she earned a UTR rating of 7. She is part of an entirely new team for the Hawks, and will be an exciting part of this new iteration of the Holy Names women’s tennis program.
 
Lilly Stienemeyer, MSU Denver: During her freshman season, Stienemeyer tallied 11 wins in singles, including three against conference opponents. She helped the Roadrunners take fifth place in the PacWest this year and is slotted at No. 4 singles to start her sophomore season.
 
Amanda Letzring, Point Loma: Injuries derailed most of Letzring’s freshman season, but the San Diego native was off to a fast start to her collegiate career.  She opened with a come-from-behind win against Fager followed by a win over an NCAA Division I opponent at No. 2 singles. She also took a set off All-PacWest selection Anna Savchenko in an unfinished match. This fall, she reached the round of 16 at the ITA Fall West Regional and beat the No. 4 seed in a supertiebreaker. Letzring being at her best will be key for the Sea Lions if they are to reach the NCAA West Regional for the first time in program history.
 
Kate Bolton, Stanislaus State: Despite having not played during the 2021 season, the Warriors have kept most of their lineup in tact with three returners that have significant playing experience. Bolton led the team in wins when the 2020 season was interrupted, playing at No. 4 and 5 singles where she accumulated a 6-3 record.