Utica, NY - After a historical 2020 season for the Utica College women's tennis program, the team returns to action on September 11 and will be looking to build off of a deep conference tournament run last season. 
 
Recapping Last Season: UC finished the shortened 2020 season 4-2 overall which landed them the three-seed in the Empire 8 Tournament and also marked the program's first postseason appearance since 2006. By taking down Hartwick 8-1 in the first round, the Pioneers secured its first postseason win since 1999. Utica's season would end however, with a 5-4 semifinal loss to St. John Fisher. 
 
Fresh Faces: The Pioneers will welcome three newcomers to the roster in 2021. Joining the team are Paetra Heeren (), Victoria Vo () and Kailey Williams (). 
 
Back for More: Bianca Bockhaus (Shenorock, NY/Somers), Haley Dekin (Castorland, NY) and Emily DePasquale (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent) are three of the five returning players from last season's semifinal team. Bockhaus, the most experienced player on the team, finished 3-4 in singles action last season while going 6-2 in doubles play. Dekin finished with a respectable 4-3 record in singles and a 2-3 overall mark in doubles. 
 
Same Animal, Different Beast: Ellen Lyga (New Hartford, NY/Notre Dame) not only took home Empire 8 First Team Singles honors as a freshman last season, but the Notre Dame graduate also finished her impressive first season with Empire 8 First Team Doubles honors. After dropping her first match, Lyga finished singles winning her final seven matches to bring her record to 7-1. She also finished 6-2 in doubles while winning both of her postseason singles matches. 
 
What You Talking About, Willis?: Another Empire 8 First Team Singles recipient, Morgan Willis (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) completed a perfect 7-0 singles record in 2020 while also finishing 6-2 in doubles play. Both doubles losses came against St. John Fisher, once in the regular season and again in the Empire 8 Semifinals. 

A Look at Houghton: The Highlanders will enter Saturday with two games under its belt. On September 3, Houghton was defeated by Grove City, 6-3, before falling to Brockport the next day, also 6-3. Utica's 8-1 win over Houghton on March 6 was the first win over the Highlanders in program history.