MEADVILLE, Pa. -- The top-seeded Allegheny College women's tennis team punched its ticket to the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament finals for the third year in a row with a 4-0 shutout victory over Westminster College on Saturday afternoon.

In front of a large and raucous crowd at the Robertson Athletic Complex, the No. 1-seeded Gators knocked off the fourth-seeded Titans in the semifinal round, one week after securing an undefeated PAC regular-season record by defeating the Titans by a 7-0 score.

Allegheny will now host the upset-minded Barons from Franciscan University on Monday, October 21, at 3:00 p.m. for the championship. Despite entering the tournament as the No. 6 seed, Franciscan has beaten No. 3 Saint Vincent College and No. 2 Grove City College to advance to the finals.

The Gators took a 1-0 lead on Saturday afternoon by winning the first two doubles matches. Evie Ellenberger (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper Saint Clair) and Omega Ba (Orlando, Fla./Edgewater) took the first doubles match, 6-4, while Emiliia Grydnieva (Kyiv, Ukraine/Optima) and Adriana Navarro (Distrito Central, Honduras/DelCampo School) defeated Westminster's No. 3 duo, 6-3.

The bottom half of the singles lineup then secured the victory. Ellenberger was the first to finish with a quick 6-0, 6-0 win in the sixth position. Alejandra Villanueva (Bogotá, Colombia/French Touch Academy) only dropped one game in a straight-set sweep at No. 4. Maria Lounder (Pittsburgh, Pa./Moon Area) then clinched the semifinal match, breaking a 2-2 tie in the second set by winning four of the next five games in a 6-0, 6-3 win.

Doubles Results
1. Evie Ellenberger / Omega Ba def. Gia Francisco / Emma Sukal, 6-4
2. Rei Etsumi / Nicole Serna Cassan vs. Ryleigh Valone / Emma Overlingas, 5-4 (unfinished)
3. Emiliia Grydnieva / Adriana Navarro def. Morgan Allen / Taylor Dlugozima, 6-3

Singles Results
1. Emiliia Grydnieva vs. Gia Francisco, 2-6, 6-2, 0-3 (unfinished)
2. Rei Etsumi vs. Emma Sukal, 6-4, 2-2 (unfinished)
3. Nicole Serna Cassan vs. Ryleigh Valone, 4-6, 2-1 (unfinished)
4. Alejandra Villanueva def. Emma Overlingas, 6-1, 6-0
5. Maria Lounder def. Morgan Allen, 6-0, 6-3
6. Evie Ellenberger def. Grace Askey, 6-0, 6-0

Up Next
Allegheny will host Franciscan on Monday, October 21, at 3:00 p.m. to determine the winner of the 2024 PAC championship.