CORTLAND, NY - The Utica women's tennis team opened its 2025 season on Sunday, heading down to the crown city for a non-conference matchup with the Red Dragons. Despite some solid singles moments, the team eventually took a loss, although many of the newer members of the orange and blue got to see some good action in their respective collegiate debuts. 

Lyndsey Tiedemann (Salt Point, NY/Franklin D Roosevelt) produced the highlight of the afternoon for the Pioneers, facing off with the top Cortland player in a singles showdown and seeing some success during the face off. Tiedemann was placed at the top of the Pioneer stack, getting the #1 matchup in the contest as she faced Cortland's Christina Massoni in one-on-one action. Against the powerful Massoni, Tiedemann fought well, even securing four games across the two sets. Three of those games were won by Tiedemann in the second set, as she started to find her footing, but ultimately fell by a score of 6-3 in set two. 

Senior Victoria Elefante (Clinton, NY/Clinton), sophomore Hannah Slater (Schenectady, NY/Colonie Central), and freshman rookie Hannah Loebakka also each grabbed a game during their respective singles outings. 

In doubles action, the rookie duo of Adia Graham (Sherburne, NY/Sherburne-Earlville) and Camryn Donley (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) managed to snag a game during their second-doubles match, battling hard against the second-best duo on the Red Dragon roster. 

The Pioneers were eventually defeated by Cortland to open their 2025 campaign. They'll be back in action three times next week as they travel to Oswego for a midweek matchup and open conference play on the weekend against Houghton and Alfred University.