UTICA, NY - The Utica University tennis team has officially entered the final stages of its 2025 regular season campaign, with a single match scheduled this week, followed by a two-match week to wrap up conference play. After some Empire 8 Conference clashes against the southern pair of Oneonta State and Hartwick College, the Pioneers will greet the St. John Fisher Cardinals for this Saturday's Senior Day. Get caught up on all the action and get ready for this Saturday's match with this week's Court Report!

This Week's Action: 

Saturday, October 4th (vs St. John Fisher at 1:00 PM): This Saturday, the Pioneers will face off against the St. John Fisher Cardinals at the Utica Tennis Courts. The match is slated for a 1:00 PM start, with some Senior Day festivities being held beforehand. Before the match, the team will be honoring its three spectacular seniors. 

Andrea May (McGraw, NY/McGraw): May, a transfer from Mohawk Valley Community College, joined the team this season, becoming one of the squad's valued seniors. After a career on the women's soccer team for the Hawks, May traded her cleats for a racket, helping the Pioneer women's tennis team after arriving on campus. 



Lyndsey Tiedemann (Salt Point, NY/Franklin D Roosevelt): Tiedemann has been the Pioneers' #1 player this season, routinely taking the role of facing off against the opposing team's top singles player or double pairing. Tiedemann has been great as a senior, leading by example and setting the tone for a relatively young orange and blue side. 



Victoria Elefante (Clinton, NY/Clinton): Elefante, a local product from Clinton, has also seen growth as a leader this season. In addition to bringing lots of experience to the table, Elefante has been willing to slot in at a variety of different spots within the singles and doubles stacks, playing games against the opponent's #2, #3, and #4 players during the year. 


Recapping Last Week: The orange and blue battled against two Oneonta-based squads during last week's action, welcoming both the Red Dragons and Hawks to Utica. The team took on Oneonta at the Hutton Dome in a non-conference tune-up match on Wednesday, before facing the Hawks at the Utica Tennis Courts in a fierce Friday Empire 8 matchup.

Against Oneonta: In a match that was originally scheduled to take place down in Oneonta, the Pioneers instead battled the Red Dragons inside the dry confines of the Hutton Dome, moving the match inside due to rain. During the action, the Pioneers went with their top two doubles teams, with Lydnsey Tiedemann and Natalyn Williams (Fort Drum, NY/Carthage) joining forces in the #1 doubles match, and Victoria Elefante (Clinton, NY/Clinton) and Kimora-Lee Simmons (Utica, NY/Thomas R. Proctor) teaming up in the #2 doubles match. In the #3 doubles match, Saige Burton (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango) and Camryn Donley (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) shared the court for only the second time this season.

In singles action, the Pioneers stack remained mostly consistent, with Tiedemann at #1, Williams at #2, Simmons at #3, Elefante at #4, Hannah Loebbaka (Saugerties, NY/Saugerties) at #5, and Hannah Slater (Schenectady, NY/Colonie Central) at #6. 

Simmons had a very competitive match with the Red Dragon's #3 player, Kiersten Rufrano. Simmons, the Utica native, fought through a very good first set, securing four games and nearly taking the opening frame. She also managed to steal a game during the latter set, stepping up to the challenge of being placed in the top half of the singles stack. 

Elefante also did well in her matchup against the #4 Oneonta player, Dakota Jimenez, as she took two games from the Red Dragon racketer. 

Against Hartwick: Later in the week, the Pioneers returned to Empire 8 play against the Hartwick Hawks, facing this opponent outdoors at the Utica Tennis Courts on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. 

Tiedemann and Simmons led off doubles competition in the #1 slot, while the #2 slot saw the debut pairing of Loebbaka and Burton. In #3 was another debut pair, as Eh Nay Than (Utica, NY/Thomas R. Proctor) teammed with a new Pioneer in Alex Roberts. 

On the singles side, Tiedemann once again held the Pioneers' #1 singles spot, followed by Simmons at #2, Elefante at #3, Donley at #4, Slater at #5, and Andrea May (McGraw, NY/McGraw) at #6.

Scouting This Week's Opponent: This Saturday is the Pioneers' only match of the week, a 1:00 PM showdown with the visiting Cardinals of St. John Fisher at the Utica Tennis Courts. Following some Senior recognition, the two teams will battle in Utica's penultimate home match of the season.

So far in 2025, the Cardinals are 4-1, also posting a perfect conference record of 4-0. Notably, the Rochester-based squad has gone 3-0 on the road this season. 

The Cardinals started 2025 off with a tough non-conference loss to the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons, falling 3-4 in Rochester during their only non-conference action of the year. Interestingly, St. John Fisher took the doubles portion of the match, earning the extra point. However, a 2-4 record in the singles section sent them to a narrow loss. Two of the singles outings were decided in three sets, making this match an extremely close and hard-fought one. 

Following that matchup, the Cardinals have been undefeated, felling four Empire 8 opponents by taking down Houghton (5-2), Brockport (5-2), Alfred University (4-3), and Russell Sage (7-0).

The Cardinals have been extremely consistent with their singles stack, as only one player from outside the top 6 has seen action. In order, St. John Fisher favors Lilly Renzi (3-2), Adriana Colafranceschi (2-3), Lily Miller (4-0), Isabella Busch (4-1), Paige Kopolow (3-2), and Anna Exford (4-1), with Tiana Buttino being the only substitute during the 2025 season so far, playing in the #3 slot for Miller during one match. 

In doubles, the team is more spread out, using various combinations throughout the year. In the #1 doubles slot, the pair of Lilly Renzi and Eliana Kelly has played all five matches, having a 2-3 record. In the #2 slot, the most successful team is Tiana Buttino and Lily Miller, who've stacked up a 3-1 record. Finally, Maddy Langley and Adriana Colafranceschi have the best #3 doubles record at 2-0.

After This Week's Competition: The Pioneers will enter the final week of regular-season play, traveling to Russell Sage on Wednesday before battling SUNY Brockport at home on October 11th. The midweek match will start at 4:00 PM, while the weekend contest will start at 1:00 PM.