PAC Release

TRAFFORD, Pa. -- After leading the Gators to the 2024 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) championship, the conference recognized eight members of the Allegheny College women's tennis team with All-PAC laurels.

Every member of Allegheny's starting lineup earned All-PAC honors, highlighted by a pair of first-team selections for singles and one for doubles competition. As a team, the Gators finished the fall with a 15-2 overall record, and for the third year in a row, Allegheny went 8-0 against conference teams. 

First-year standout Julia Müsseler (Munich, Germany/Käthe-Kollwitz-Gymnasium) was the lone Gator with two All-PAC First Team awards for her performance in singles and doubles. Müsseler posted a combined record of 22-2 and was 15-0 against PAC opponents. Her only losses came against Division II Daemen University on September 8. Müsseler, who played No. 2 singles, earned All-PAC First Team honors for doubles alongside teammate Evie Ellenberger (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair). As Allegheny's No. 1 tandem, they were undefeated at 9-0 with seven conference wins.

Sophomore Emiliia Grydnieva (Kyiv, Ukraine/Optima) repeated as an All-PAC First Teamer. Grydnieva was 9-4 as Allegheny's top singles player and earned four wins over conference foes. She also earned a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Division II PennWest Clarion's first singles player on September 28. The PAC Championship Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, Grydnieva won the title-clinching match in three sets against Franciscan University and picked up an All-PAC Honorable Mention doubles award alongside Adriana Navarro (Distrito Central, Honduras/DelCampo School).

Allegheny's remaining singles players were all included on the All-PAC Second Team: Rei Etsumi (Honolulu, Hawaii/President William McKinley), Nicole Serna Cassan (Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico/Grandview Preparatory (Fla.)), Alejandra Villanueva (Bogotá, Colombia/French Touch Academy), and Maria Lounder (Pittsburgh, Pa./Moon Area). For Etsumi and Lounder, it marks the second All-PAC singles award of their careers. The Gator quartet combined for an impressive 28-0 record against conference opponents. As the only Allegheny student-athlete to face all eight conference teams, Villanueva led all Gators with a perfect 8-0 PAC singles record. Villanueva and Serna Cassan also tied for the team lead in overall singles wins with identical 13-2 records.

Etsumi and Serna Cassan rounded out Allegheny's award winners with a spot on the All-PAC Second Team for doubles. The No. 2 duo in the Gator lineup was 6-2 against league opponents, including 6-0 shutout wins over Saint Vincent College and Waynesburg University. 

Lounder also was named Allegheny's representative on the PAC Sportsmanship Team. The PAC Sportsmanship Teams were established to recognize student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior, and are an ongoing effort to recognize and encourage positive sportsmanship among all PAC teams and student-athletes.

Junior Carolina Walters of Saint Vincent was crowned the 2024 PAC Player of the Year, while Chloe DeSanzo of Geneva College was named the Newcomer of the Year. Coach of the Year honors went to Tom Costello, who guided the sixth-seeded Barons of Franciscan to the PAC championship match against Allegheny.

The All-PAC teams, along with this year's annual award winners and sportsmanship team selections, were decided by a vote of the league's head coaches.

To view the complete 2024 All-PAC Women's Tennis award winners, please click here.