There were many similarities between the Point Loma and Azusa Pacific women’s tennis teams in 2025, starting with their overall records and their success in the NCAA postseason.

The Cougars were 21-5 and the Sea Lions finished 20-5, and both won two matches to reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships. Point Loma won the conference title, but the Cougars won both match-ups between the teams during the regular season.

In 2026, the PacWest coaches proclaimed the two squads virtually even. They share the title of conference favorite in the annual preseason coaches poll, with 189 poll points. The split the vote of the 14 coaches with seven first place votes each. Nationally, the Cougars are ranked 15th in the ITA preseason poll and the Sea Lions are 17th.

Biola is third in the poll (158), Hawaii Pacific is fourth (152), Dominican fifth (132), and Fresno Pacific is sixth (108). Hawaii Hilo and Stanislaus State tied for seventh (104), Menlo and Concordia tied for ninth (85), CSU Los Angeles is 11^th (62), Westmont 12^th (55), Jessup 13^th (29) and Chaminade is 14 (18).

Point Loma won its first-ever PacWest title last spring, winning a 4-3 thriller over Biola in the title bout. Anna Pallencaoe was the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and she is back after a 16-5 year in 2025.

Head coach Curt Wheeler, in his 12^th season (153-88) also has last Fall’s ITA singles champ Alina Kupfer back. Kupfer played most of 2025 in the No. 1 singles spot. The Sea Lions did lose three all-conference players to graduation including four-time All-PacWest honoree Arianna Audello. PLNU has four returnees overall and also have a pair of transfers in Perla Conde Vendrell (Emporia State, All-MIAA), Zoe Moley (Texas A&M Corpus Christi).

Azusa Pacific has a bounty of good players to lead the way for head coach Mark Bohren, in his 30^th season (458-195). Bohren has Stina Larsson, the 2025 PacWest Freshman of the Year and First Team All-Conference selection, along with Karola Suviste. Larsson was 20-4 last season while Suviste went a team-best 22-2. The duo teamed to win the ITA doubles crown last October.

Shannele Lopez (14-2) and Vini Bautista return as well. The Cougars, who are playing in their final season in Division II, lost three key players but also have new freshman to help bolster the line-up.

Biola reached the PacWest title match for the first time last spring. The Eagles went 16-8 under head coach David Goodman and advanced to the NCAA playoffs, also a first.

The Eagles return four starters from that team-- Dafne Andres (15-7 singles), Isabelle Karam (15-6 singles), Kailee Mazzeo (14-9 singles), and Alessia Radu (14-4 singles). Biola did lose First Team All-PacWest pick Isabella Chavarria to graduation, but have five returnees overall and transfer Ivet Stancheva (Jr, Angelo State).

The fourth spot in the poll belongs to Hawaii Pacific. The Sharks finished third in the PacWest tournament last year by topping Azusa Pacific, and qualified for the NCAA tournament and lost to Point Loma, 4-3.

HPU has a new coach in Chelsea Patton. The former Sharks assistant has solid group of returnees with experience at all of the top spots--  Evi Roobol (No. 1, 8-10, Second Team All-PacWest), Emily Castillo (No. 3/4, 8-11), Jayanne Palma (No. 3/4, 7-8), Annika Hakovirta (No. 5/6, 7-14), and Rosa Viller Moeller (No. 5/6, 13-7).

Dominican lands in the fifth spot. Head coach Cristina Visico, in her 12^th season, lost some key players in Audrey Rafols, a four-time All-PacWest pick and 2025 Third Team member Gina Dudley.
But the Penguins return a trio from that 2025 team that went 15-5 in Sofia Acuña (13-4 singles); Maria Gavrilov (10-7 singles) and Deepa Vanaraja (12-4 singles). Acuna and true freshman Kaylee Lopez reached the ITA doubles finals last Fall. Visico has six returnees overall to build her 2026 team around.

Fresno Pacific is next in sixth. The Penguins have a top tier freshman in Fabiana Gonzalez, who battled to the ITA singles final before falling to Point Loma’s Kupfer. Head coach Sam Gaeddert has five returnees from last season, including No. 1 player Yume Ueoku (8-6 in conference No.1, 3^rd Team All-PWC).

The PacWest coaches placed Hawaii Hilo and Stanislaus State tied for seventh. Hawaii Hilo, under second-year coach Guilherme De Medeiros, has three starters back but lost two program mainstays to graduation in McKenna Mountain and Akari Ichikawa. The Vulcans will be bolstered by two transfers, Pia Starnecker (Concordia), Victoria Ricuarte-Cabas (MSU-Denver). Ricuarte-Cabas was a Second Team All-PacWest doubles selection last year for the Roadrunners.

Stanislaus State went 12-9 last year under veteran coach Verek Visaraga, in his 23^rd season. Visarago returns four players that were in the starting singles line-up, including No. 2 Emma Yu, along with Abigail Mulick (9-5), Parker Orlando (10-2), and Malah White (7-7). The Warriors also have four freshman to give depth to the roster.

There was also a tie for ninth between Concordia and Menlo. Concordia went 15-10 last year in SJ Nijssen’s first season. The Golden Eagles lost five key players from that roster, but return Brynn Johnson, who was First Team in doubles and Third Team in singles. Menlo, under fourth-year head coach Ben Cabell, returns three players but he lost five. These transfers will certainly help-- Zofia Dziewiecka (Jr., Jackson State), Ombeline Robilliart (So., St. Thomas Aquinas), and Polya Nikolova (Jr., Flagler).

CSU Los Angeles is 11^th with 62 poll points. Head coach Richard Gallien, in his 27^th season, has four players returning after graduating four, and he also has four transfers to enter the mix. Westmont is next with a new coach in Sheila Snyder, who comes to Santa Barbara after a very successful 35-year career at Wayne State (438-225). Snyder inherits five returnees and has five newcomers.

Jessup and Chaminade follow. Jessup has a new leader in Nicole Briceno, who directed Academy of Art to a PacWest title in 2024. Briceno has four returnees and lost five. Chaminade head coach Ty Aki has almost his entire team returning from 2025 as the Silverswords look to qualify for their first PacWest tournament.

The 14 teams in the Pacific West Conference do not play an official league schedule, but their matches against each other throughout the season will factor into a seeding list through the first part of April. At that time, the top eight teams will qualify for the Pacific West Conference Championships, to be held April 15-17 in Surprise, Ariz.