By: Courtesy of Albright Athletic Communications

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Women's tennis enjoyed another historic season in 2024-25 going 17-0 in the regular season including the MAC Commonwealth playoffs on their way to back-to-back conference crowns and their second straight NCAA tournament appearance. The Lions bowed out of the NCAA Tournament this afternoon, falling 4-2 to SUNY New Paltz in a highly competitive first round match.

The Lions went undefeated in the regular season and throughout the conference tournament marking another historic season for the program under the leadership of head coach Miranda Brown and assistant coaches Beth McCormick and Kade Friedrich. The team is still amid their regular season win streak which stands at 26 straight matches heading into the 2025-26 season.

Albright saw every student-athlete in the starting lineup be named to an All-Conference team. Additionally, Alex Pancu was named MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year for the fourth consecutive season and Allison Horick was named MAC Commonwealth Rookie of the Year.

Pancu, Horick and Michelle Timothy were all named to the conferences First Team, Elicia Aponte and Alaina Smith were named to the Second Team and Saba Soroush was named an Honorable Mention.

Albright and SUNY New Paltz came into today's match very evenly matched. New Paltz advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament but not before Albright gave them everything they could handle.

Aponte played an exceptional match this afternoon coming out victorious. Not only is Aponte a fantastic player on the court but she is an exceptional teammate as well. Aponte is constantly cheering on her teammates as she is playing and as a spectator.

The rising junior dropped the first set 4-6. After that, Aponte found a new gear and dominated the remainder of the match. Aponte turned around to win the second set 6-4 having all the momentum on her side heading into a decisive third set. The third set was all Aponte as she ultimately won the match easily, taking the third set 6-2.

Horick did not lose a match all season long. In fact, of the 17 matches won this year by Horick only two of them went to a third set. Today Horick proved why she is a top player in the MAC winning in straight sets against a solid player from SUNY New Paltz.

The first set went to Horick 7-6 (7-5) looking like a seasoned veteran playing her first career NCAA Tournament match. The rising sophomore won in straight sets taking the second set 6-4 to earn the Lions first team point of the day.

Pancu dropped her No. 1 singles match today against a solid counterpart. Pancu is one of if not the best women's tennis player in Albright history. The senior Lion concluded her career with 61 No. 1 singles match wins to tie the Albright program record. Additionally, Pancu became the second player in school history to be named MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year in every season she played for Albright.

The Lions are well positioned heading into next season and will surely be the favorites to not only win the MAC Commonwealth for a third straight year while also qualifying for their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.