Azusa Pacific has won back-to-back Pacific West Conference women’s tennis titles, and the two championships won prior to that were claimed by Hawai`i Pacific.
Who will win in 2023? According to the PacWest coaches, Hawai`i Pacific will reclaim their crown and will likely play APU in the title match. The Sharks and Cougars earned the top two spots in the annual coaches poll, voted on by the 15 head coaches in the expanded PacWest Conference for women’s tennis. The Sharks and Cougars both reached the NCAA quarterfinals last year after APU edged HPU 4-3 in the PacWest Championship.
In what is known as the-post BYU Hawaii era of women’s tennis, the Sharks and Cougars have dominated. From 2017 backwards, the conference was owned by the Seasiders, who won every PacWest title since the conference began offering championships.
But since then, the pack of 13 teams behind HPU and APU have been trying to break through. Academy of Art made the title bout in 2018 and 2019, upsetting the apple cart.
Who has the best chance of toppling the Sharks (207 poll points) or the Cougars (194 poll points)?
Point Loma (176) grabbed the third spot in the poll, followed by Biola (164), Academy of Art (151), Fresno Pacific (141), Concordia (115), Metro State Denver (104), Cal State LA (95), Dominican (88), Hawai`i Hilo (83), Colorado Mesa (69), Stanislaus State (40), Holy Names (34) and Chaminade (19).
Hawai`i Pacific received 14 of the 15 first place votes to earn the top spot in the preseason poll. The Sharks return the PacWest Player of the Year/Freshman of the Year in
Shaline Pipa. The German was 17-1 as a freshman last year playing at the No. 1 spot. Fellow German
Marleen Tilgner is also back after a 16-3 season playing mostly at No. 3. She was a First Team All-PacWest selection.
Elodie Busson was 13-9 in 2022 playing mostly at No. 2 and earned Second Team All-PacWest honors, while
Mihoki Miyahara was also Second Team and tallied a 9-3 mark at mostly No. 3. The Sharks lost only one starter (Marta Ruszcynska), leaving head coach
Lauren Conching (13
th season) with a loaded team again. Conching has a 205-70 career mark at HPU, and the NCAA quarterfinalists were 17-9 last spring.
Defending champ
Azusa Pacific returns eight from the Cougar team that also advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals and finished the year 20-7. That includes PacWest Newcomer of the Year
Eleonora Liga. Playing at the No. 1 position, the Lynn transfer went 21-3 last year. Also back for head coach
Mark Bohrens (28
th season, 394-189) is
Madison Kane (No. 2, 16-6),
April Wong (No. 3, 8-2), and
Katherine Nguyen (No. 6, 14-3). Bohrens also added graduate transfer
Miruna Tudor (Romania), who played three seasons at Division I Wisconsin.
Point Loma had a breakout year in 2022, advancing to the NCAA tournament for the first time, falling to Hawai`i Pacific in the regionals. They ended the season at 19-8 under head coach
Curt Wheeler, who now enters his ninth season (113-83). The Sea Lions return six players, including five of their top six. That group is led by
Arianna Audelo, who was 14-10 as a freshman last year playing at No. 1. She was a Second Team All-PacWest choice. Also back is
Angelique Friedrich (No. 2, 15-9),
Thelma Sepulveda (No. 3, 14-12),
Amanda Letzring (No. 5, 19-5), and
Faith Pearson (No. 6, 15-8). Sepulveda was a Third Team pick. Wheeler also signed graduate transfer
Rachal Jackson from Westmont, a two-time All-GSAC selection.
Biola was a close fourth with 164 poll points. The Eagles had an impressive season in 2022 with a 21-6 record, which included regular season wins over Azusa Pacific and Hawai`i Pacific. Head coach
David Goodman returns six starters, including No. 1
Colbeyshae Emery, a First Team All-PacWest selection last year who finished 18-5. They lost Mary Brascia, a Third Team pick, but return No. 3
Alexandria Mann (So., 15-8), No. 4
Lilly McNeill (Jr., 16-7), and No. 5
Brooke Fager (r-Jr., 10-6).
Fresno Pacific had an outstanding 2022, qualifying for the NCAA tournament and reaching the semi’s of the PacWest tournament. Their season wrapped at 16-10 with a loss to Azusa Pacific in the regional tournament. New head coach
Sam Gaeddert has three starters back from that team, including
Lea Falentin (No.2, 17-5),
Elise Leik (No. 6, 12-6), and
Sanne Brull (No. 5, 16-4). Falentin was a Third Team All-PacWest selection last year.
Concordia nabbed the seventh spot in the poll. The Golden Eagles went 9-14 last year and return eight from that team. That veteran group includes
Tiffany Carrillo (No. 1-2, 6-10) and
Alyssa Zayat (No. 3-4, 10-9).
Metro State Denver follows at No. 8 after going 12-10 in 2022. They return an experienced group that includes
Isabel Heras (No. 2, 12-15),
Marie Cool (No. 4, 13-12),
Monica Guarin (No. 5, 14-9), and
Kayla Myburgh (Jr., No. 6, 18-8).
Cal State LA is ninth with 95 poll points. The Golden Eagles were 8-10 in 2022, and head coach
Richard Gallien (who spent 22 years at USC) has his top player returning in
Sarah Olmos. Longwood transfer
Alexandra Hincu will help, as will last year’s No. 3
Sakura Kurokawa (7-9).
Dominican checks in at No 10 with 88 poll points. The Penguins were 12-7 last year and return six starters from that squad. Head coach
Cristina Visico Hassanali has six starters back from that team, including
Audrey Rafols (So., 10-5),
Gina Dudley (So., 7-2),
Haley Garcia (Sr., 6-8), and
Zoe Coggins (Jr., 9-5).
Hawai`i Hilo was just four poll points behind Dominican. Head coach Kallen
Mizuguchi returns six, including
Julia Barden (No. 1-3, 5-8),
Nanami Okamoto (No. 2-5, 6-6), and
Hikari Osaki (No. 3-5, 10-4). Barden went three sets with Hawaii Pacific’s Elodie Busson in the season’s opening week. The Vulcans will also benefit from St Katherine transfer
McKenna Mountain, a First Team All-GSAC selection last year.
Colorado Mesa comes in at No. 12 after finishing 11-15 last year under veteran coach
Dan MacDonald (18
th season). MacDonald has his top six starters back, including No. 1
Issy Coman and No 2
Makenna Livingston. Stanislaus State is No. 13, returning their entire team that went 5-8 in 2022.
Holy Names and
Chaminade follow to round out the polls. The Hawks return four players, but the Silverswords lost five players including No. 1 Kayleen Lau.
Although there are no official PacWest Conference matches during the regular season (no official standings are kept), conference squads will square off against each other all spring for seeding into the PacWest Championship Tournament, April 19-22 in Surprise, Arizona. The top 12 squads will earn entry into the four-day tournament.