UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's tennis team hits the court for the first time in 2025 this Sunday, traveling down to SUNY Cortland for a weekend matchup with the Red Dragons. The team brings back a few veterans to add to a much-anticipated incoming class, with the size of the team being double the numbers they've had in years past. With more options, the team will look to find some winning combinations in both singles and doubles action, hoping to return to the Empire 8 Tournament once again. Get caught up below on all things Utica tennis ahead of this weekend's season-opener!

Opening Weekend: This Sunday's season-opening match will take place at the Cortland Tennis Courts, which happen to be right on campus down in Cortland, New York. The Pioneers will face off against the Red Dragons with the match slated for a 12:00 PM start time. Results will be available later Sunday night or early Monday morning. 

Pioneer Primer: This year's squad will be comprised of 11 different players, with four returners and seven new faces. The team brings together lots of talent from the local area, along with some players from all over New York. A trio of seniors will lead the way, while a pair of sophomores will look to join the six incoming freshmen in order to create a great mix of underclassmen talent. 

Returning Racketers: The Pioneers will bring back a pair of seniors and a pair of sophomores from last year's squad, with Lyndsey Tiedemann (Salt Point, NY/Franklin D Roosevelt) and Victoria Elefante (Clinton, NY/Clinton) being thrust into leadership roles during their defining campaigns, while Kimora-Lee Simmons (Utica, NY/Thomas R. Proctor) and Hannah Slater (Schenectady, NY/Colonie Central) will bridge the gap between the senior leadership and freshmen potential. 

Tiedemann will look to get back to her 2023 form, a season in which she picked up five singles wins, including three victories in a row against conference competition. The Salt Point native experienced some adversity last year after facing higher-tier competition within the singles lineup, but will look for an explosive 2025 within her expected spot atop the Pioneers' singles lineup. The senior will also be paired up with new help during any potential doubles matches, as she's played 18 of her 20 career doubles matches will recent graduate Callie Ott (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) on her side. Although alongside the experienced Elefante, along with incoming senior transfer Andrea May (McGraw, NY/McGraw) now available, Tiedemann looks to make some noise in the doubles department. 

On the topic of Elefante, the former Clinton Comet will also look for a breakout year in her senior season. The former Section III standout (who earned a Section III finalist spot in 2021), will be dealing with many of the same factors that look to influence Tiedemann's season, namely a spot at the top of the Pioneer lineup along with some doubles uncertainty, as Elefante's main cohort, Jackie Roberts (Herkimer, NY/Notre Dame), also departs from last year's team. Elefante has played all but one of her career doubles matchups with Roberts by her side (17 of 18), so she will also be looking for some new talent to aid in her multi-athlete matches. 

Sophomores Kimora-Lee Simmons (Utica, NY/Thomas R. Proctor) and Hannah Slater (Schenectady, NY/Colonie Central) will look to start strong in year number two, with Simmons hoping to make noise at the top of the Pioneer singles lineup and Slater looking to do the same while also hoping to help the younger Pioneers find their footing.

Simmons and Slater occupied the singles lineup at opposite ends of the season last year, with Simmons recording five matches at the start of the season and Slater seeing action in five of the later matchups. Simmons was thrust into a stellar spot atop the stack last season, often finding herself facing off against the 2nd or 3rd ranked singles player on the opposing side. The local product out of Proctor will hopefully be back in the thick of it come Sunday, taking on one of the Red Dragons' top talents. Slater will also look for much of the same, as she played some competitive matches last year when stacked in the Pioneer lineup. Both players will hope to guide a wave of incoming freshmen as they adapt to the college game.

Reinforcements Have Arrived: The Pioneers will suit seven new players this coming season, with the reinforcements being comprised of six freshmen and one transfer senior. 

First, we'll mention the veteran of the orange and blue rookies, Mohawk Valley Community College transfer Andrea May (McGraw, NY/McGraw). May is an incoming senior, immediately seeing herself ascend to a leadership position among the team. The former Hawk last suited up for the women's soccer program over at MVCC, securing three assists in her freshman year for the local program. This season, she'll don the Moose and join the Pioneer ranks. 

The Pioneers will also welcome an array of young talent from the surrounding area, with freshmen Saige Burton (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango), Camryn Donley (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham), Adia Graham (Sherburne, NY/Sherburne-Earlville), Hannah Loebbaka (Saugerties, NY/Saugerties), Eh Nay Than (Utica, NY/Thomas R. Proctor), and Natalyn Williams (Fort Drum, NY/Carthage) rounding out the new recruits. 

Donley, Graham, and Than join after great high school careers with local schools Mount Markham, Sherburne-Earlville, and Thomas R. Proctor, respectively. 

Donley was a three-sport athlete for the Mustangs, playing soccer, basketball, and softball for nearly all of her high school career. She was also a three-time all-star with the softball program. 

Graham was also a multi-sport athlete while in high school, suiting up for the volleyball and field hockey teams at Sherburne-Earlville. 

Than, the final of the three local freshmen, played tennis and golf during her junior and senior years while with the Raiders. 

The other three freshmen will join Utica from other spots in New York, as Saige Burton (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango), Hannah Loebbaka (Saugerties, NY/Saugerties), and Natalyn Williams (Fort Drum, NY/Carthage) join the ranks following high school careers at Chittenango, Saugerties, and Carthage, respectively.

Burton played four years of tennis and basketball while with the Bears. During her senior year, she helped the Bears to an OHSL League Championship. Now she'll travel down the thruway and bring some young talent to the Pioneer team.

Loebbaka arrives after a high school career that saw her lace 'em up as a track and field athlete while also playing flag football during her junior year. 

Williams ventures down from the North Country after a career at Carthage, which saw her achieve a 2025 Frontier League 2nd Singles Championship. She'll add that experience to the Pioneer team this upcoming season.

At the Helm: Head Coach John Nigro will enter his impressive 38th season as the head coach of the Pioneers in 2025, still keeping his title as the longest-tenured coach in the Utica Athletics Department. He'll look to find the correct mix of senior and underclassmen talent to lead the team back to the Empire 8 Tournament for the first time since 2020 - when the Pioneers managed to upend Hartwick before falling to Fisher in the Empire 8 Semifinals. 

Scouting the 2025 Slate: The Pioneers' 2025 campaign will see them battle all the usual Empire 8 foes, while also doing battle with three SUNYAC sides. Take a look below for the complete season schedule, and also keep an eye out for gameday programs at this year's home events!

* = Empire 8 Contest

Sunday, September 7th - at SUNY Cortland - 12:00 PM
Wednesday, September 10th - at Oswego State - 3:30 PM
Saturday, September 13th - vs Houghton University* - 1:00 PM
Sunday, September 14th - at Alfred University* - 1:00 PM
Friday, September 19th - at Nazareth University* - 4:00 PM
Sunday, September 21st - at SUNY Geneseo* - 1:00 PM
Wednesday, September 24th - at Oneonta State - 4:00 PM
Friday, September 26th - vs Hartwick College* - 4:00 PM
Saturday, October 4th - vs St. John Fisher University* - 1:00 PM
Wednesday, October 8th - at Russell Sage College* - 4:00 PM
Saturday, October 11th - vs SUNY Brockport* - 1:00 PM

Scouting Cortland: The team travels to Cortland to face the Red Dragons on Sunday, September 7th at 12 P.M. Last season, the SUNYAC side Cortland finished with a record of 6-5. They played 4 Empire 8 teams and went 3-1 during those matchups, with their only loss coming to eventual conference champions Hartwick. They advanced all the way to the SUNYAC semifinals, where they lost to SUNY Oswego by a 1-4 decision. Their best returning player is Christina Massoni, as the rising junior and Long Island native finished with a record of 6-4. Their doubles tandem of Alexandra Thut and Mary Repass ended the year with a 4-7 record, having lost 4 consecutive matches to end the year after a 4-3 start.

After this Weekend's Match: The Pioneers will be busy once next week arrives, traveling to Oswego on Wednesday for a non-conference tilt before a Saturday-Sunday doubleheader against Houghton and Alfred University to begin conference play. More information about those matchups will be present in next week's preview, which is set to release at 3:30 on Tuesday afternoon.