The 2025 PacWest women’s tennis season will feature 17 programs competing for the conference title, breaking the conference’s 25-year-old record for most teams in a single sport, eclipsing when there were 16 teams in men’s basketball.

The preseason favorite to emerge out of the crowded field is Academy of Art as the Urban Knights seek to defend their 2024 maiden title. Azusa Pacific is second on the preseason poll with three first-place votes followed by Point Loma with two first-place votes. Concordia and Hawai`i Pacific are also top contenders to earn one of the four spots in the NCAA West Regional according to the PacWest coaches.

Over the last four years the pool of title contenders has gotten deeper as proven by the No. 5 seed ART U winning conference last year. That trend of increasing parity among the top schools appears to be continuing as represented by three teams earning first-place votes in the preseason poll.

Down the list, Biola is followed by Dominican, Hawai`i Hilo, MSU Denver, Colorado Mesa, Fresno Pacific, and Menlo as the teams that start the season in position to earn a berth into the 12-team PacWest Championships. Cal State LA, Stanislaus State, Westmont, Jessup, and Chaminade are the remaining contenders for a trip to the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Club in mid-April.

Reigning PacWest Freshman of the Year Amelija Supulniece is back at the top of the lineup for the Urban Knights as they look to defend their title. She won the ITA Fall West Regional, making her the early frontrunner for Player of the Year. She is surrounded by a veteran roster with five starters returning from last year’s conference championship team, including Estelle Najean, who took out the top seed at the ITA Fall West Regional to reach the semifinals.

Azusa Pacific has reached the PacWest final in each of the last four seasons and will look to continue that success despite losing their No. 1 doubles team from last season to graduation. Julia Jordan and Vini Bautista will be at the top of the Cougars lineup as they look to get back to the NCAA National Championships with a lineup that will feature three true freshmen.

Led by three-time All-PacWest selection Arianna Audelo, Point Loma is picked to finish in third place for the third year in a row. The Sea Lions have added transfer Alina Kupfer (Southern New Hampshire) to help bolster their chances of getting past the regional stage of the NCAA postseason for the first time in program history.

Concordia is picked fourth after reaching the NCAA West Regional for the third time in four years. The Golden Eagles have surrounded PacWest Player of the Year contender Sophie Rachor with some new faces, including Cheyenne Houkes (St.Leo) and Kristyna Dvorakova (Arkansas Tech) from the transfer portal.

For just the second time in program history, Hawai`i Pacific failed to reach the title match in Surprise, but the Sharks are looking to get back into title contention this season with a host of new faces. Jayanne Palma is the sole returning starter for the Sharks, making them the biggest wild card going into the new season. Evi Roobol came from rival Academy of Art as part of a large class of transfers to the three-time PacWest Champions.

Biola is picked fifth after the graduation of four-time All-PacWest selection Colbeyshae Emery. Alexandria Mann is back for the Eagles as they seek to get back to regionals for the first time since 2021.

Dominican is led by three-time All-PacWest selection Audrey Rafols who is another contender for the Player of the Year award at the end of the season. Dominican is picked in the preseason poll to equal its best finish in program history at No. 7.

Hawai`i Hilo is No. 8 under new coach Guilherme De Medeiros, and the Colorado schools go 9-10 with MSU Denver returning four players and Colorado Mesa welcoming their three top singles player back. Fresno Pacific checks at No. 11 in the poll, paced by returning No. 1 player Yume Ueoku. 

PacWest first-year member Menlo is next. The Oaks went 12-3 a year ago and reached the Golden State Athletic Conference tournament championship. No. 1 player Milana Hrudka reached the ITA finals last fall. CSU Los Angeles returns five and occupies spot 13, followed by Stanislaus State, Westmont, Jessup and Chaminade.

The first match of the season between PacWest teams will be on Saturday as Point Loma visits Westmont. Then on Sunday, Academy of Art will begin its campaign at home against Menlo. Azusa Pacific and Point Loma will face each other in San Diego on February 8 for the first of two matches between the second and third-place teams in the preseason poll. Academy of Art will travel to face Concordia and then Point Loma on consecutive days on March 7-8.

The PacWest Championships will begin on April 16 in Surprise, Arizona. The top-12 teams according to the seeding committee will be selected for participation with the top-4 teams all receiving a first-round bye. The conference’s champion along with three at-large teams will then compete in the NCAA West Regional for a chance to go to Altamonte Springs, Fla. on May 20-24 to compete for the NCAA Division II Women’s Tennis National Championship.