The Penn State Altoona women's tennis team enters its 2025-26 season looking to build upon last year's success. In 2024-25, the Lions totaled 10 overall wins, tying for the second-most in a season in program history and the most in a year since 2001. The team went 3-2 within the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference and earned the third seed in the conference playoff tournament.

Entering this fall, the Lions' 10-player roster is heavy on returners, with the team welcoming back eight student-athletes from last season: senior Rachel Stricek (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone), juniors Caitlin Blessel (Saint Marys, PA/Saint Marys), Casey Burinskas (Derry, NH/Pinkerton Academy), and Lexi Colaianni (Pittsburgh, PA/Kiski Area), and sophomores Mara Del Valle (Colombia/Walt Whitman), Sienna Fell (Canonsburg, PA/Canon-McMillan), Daniel Fulton (Milford, DE/Milford), and Abigail Morgan (Orrville, OH/Orrville).

Head coach Mark Sapita, who is coming into his third season leading the team, is excited for the combination of experience and skill that his core of returners brings to the roster.

"Experience is something that cannot be replicated. Our returners have had a very good amount of match experience, which was built upon during our spring season last year," he said.

Leading Penn State Altoona's returning class are Colaianni, Fulton, Morgan, and Stricek. Colaianni was a first-team All-AMCC selection last season at No. 6 singles, and she won 14 overall matches to become the Lions' single-season wins record holder. Fulton was also a first-team all-conference pick at No. 5 singles and tallied eight overall victories. Colaianni and Fulton also combined for second-team All-AMCC status at No. 3 doubles, posting six wins together in that slot.

Morgan earned second-team All-AMCC honors for No. 4 singles, a position at which she compiled nine overall wins last season. Additionally, Stricek is back for her senior campaign after ranking second on Penn State Altoona in overall singles wins last year, racking up 10 victories while playing the majority of her matches at the No. 2 spot.

Blessel, last year's No. 1 in the lineup, and Fell, the No. 3 player last season, are also both back after finishing with five and six wins, respectively, last year. Burinskas and Del Valle round out the group of returners, with each player seeing time in several matches last season.

Sapita, the AMCC's co-Coach of the Year in women's tennis last season, believes that his returners' improvement will help sharpen the team's lineup throughout the schedule.

"All of our returners improved significantly throughout last season, and that has made for a great deal of competition within the lineup," Sapita stated. "There is almost certainly going to be multiple lineups this year as players work to establish themselves in the ladder."

The women's tennis team also brings on a pair of freshmen: Ashylin Rodriguez (Lancaster, PA/Hempfield) and Alejandra Segura (San Juan, PR/Colegio Mater Salvatoris).

"Ashylin and Alejandra are new to the team and bring a level of commitment and enthusiasm that is certain to help them to improve as the year progresses," said Sapita. "While they lack the experience of our returning players, they show the potential to work their way into the lineup as their collegiate careers progress."

As the Lions prepare to embark on their regular season next week, Sapita hopes that each player can make the necessary advancements to help the collective.

"The team will be successful if each member continues to focus on the process of making themselves the best player that they can possibly be," Sapita said. "But more important than any team or individual record will be a continued and strengthened commitment to be a part of a group that truly embraces the spirit of WE ARE!"

Penn State Altoona's 20-date schedule gets underway on Saturday, August 30, with AMCC play, as the Lions head to Pittsburgh to face Carlow University at 11 a.m. The team's full schedule can be found on www.psaltoonalions.com.