UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's tennis team is set to hit the court for the first time in 2026 next week, with contests on Wednesday and Saturday kickstarting the new season. On Wednesday, the team will head down to Oneonta for a season-opening tilt against the Red Dragons. Then, on Saturday, the team returns home to open Empire 8 play against Alfred University. This season is shaping up well for the Pioneers, who enter 2026 with their most consistent and promising roster in a few years. After returning nearly everyone, including their #1 singles and doubles player, the squad will see some great growth, with four freshmen, ballooning the roster size to 11 players. With those added pieces, the program will seek its first Empire 8 Tournament trip since the 2020 campaign, when the team went 5-3 and reached the Empire 8 Semifinals. Get caught up below on all things Utica tennis ahead of next week's season-opener!
 
Opening Week: The Pioneers will open the 2026 season against Oneonta State, heading down to face the Red Dragons at the Dr. Heissan '63 Tennis Courts next Wednesday, September 2nd at 3:30 PM. Following that season-opening showdown, the Pioneers will return home to take on Alfred University, opening up Empire 8 play at the Utica Tennis Courts on Saturday, September 5th, with a 1:00 start time.
 
Pioneer Primer: This year's squad will be comprised of 11 different players, with seven returners and four new faces. The team is primarily a homegrown squad, possessing a massive amount of local talent from Section III, along with a few other players from various sections in New York. A trio of graduate students returns to give the team some veteran staples, while Hannah Slater (Schenectady, NY/Colonie Central), who will be graduating early, will serve as the team's lone senior. Three sophomores round out the returners, as each player will look to take a big step in year two. The four incoming freshmen will attempt to slot in right away and get off to a good start in their respective rookie seasons. Here is a look at where each of the team's players comes from:
 
Section III:
Saige Burton (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango) | So.
Kendra Conte (Baldwinsville, NY/Baldwinsville) | Fr.
Kierstyn Ford (Mexico, NY/Mexico Academy) | Fr.
Averi Kraeger (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) | Fr.
Andrea May (McGraw, NY/McGraw) | Gr.
Aubrie Morris (Baldwinsville, NY/Baldwinsville) | Fr.
Alex Roberts (Sauquoit, NY/Sauquoit Valley) | Gr.
Eh Nay Than (Utica, NY/Thomas R. Proctor) | So.
 
Section I:
Lyndsey Tiedemann (Salt Point, NY/Franklin D. Roosevelt) | Gr.
 
Section II:
Hannah Slater (Schenectady, NY/Colonie Central) | Sr.
 
Section IX:
Hannah Loebbaka (Saugerties, NY/Saugerties) | So.
 
Returning Rackets: The team brings back a very solid core of Pioneer players, including the program's top singles and doubles choice over the past few years: Lyndsey Tiedemann (Salt Point, NY/Franklin D. Roosevelt). Alongside Tiedemann is a pair of fellow graduate students in Andrew May and Alex Roberts (Sauquoit, NY/Sauquoit Valley). Hannah Slater (Schenectady, NY/Colonie Central) reclassifies to become a senior this season, while the rest of the returners are rounded out by three sophomores in Saige Burton (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango), Hannah Loebbaka (Saugerties, NY/Saugerties), and Eh Nay Than (Utica, NY/Thomas R. Proctor).
 
Tiedemann will once again slot in as the team's top choice for each competition, hoping to lead the team to some major wins. This past season, while facing off against each opponent's top player, Tiedemann posted a 1-9 record in both singles and doubles. The former FDR grad will look to take her lessons learned against the top talent in the conference and apply them this season as she dons the orange and blue for her final campaign. Tiedemann will also be looking for a new doubles partner, as her two combinations from last year have seen both players depart the program. With that in mind, there are a few returners who could look to step into a #1 doubles role alongside the graduate guru.
 
Hannah Loebbaka (Saugerties, NY/Saugerties) is the only returner outside of Tiedemann who saw action in a top-3 singles bout, as she received two opportunities to battle it out in the #3 singles matchup. The Section IX native also competed twice in the #4 singles matchup and five times in the #5 singles matchup. Loebbaka showed promise in her various starts, even taking home a key victory during a #4 singles matchup against Russell Sage, helping the Pioneers to a big conference victory. In doubles action, Loebbaka played alongside four other Pioneers during the course of the season. However, it would be with fellow returning top talent Hannah Slater (Schenectady, NY/Colonie Central) that Loebbaka would secure a big win in #3 doubles.
 
Slater also looks to slot in toward the top of the Pioneer lineup. The rising senior participated in nearly every matchup last season, including spending time as high as #4 on the singles depth chart. In doubles, Slater battled with two other Pioneers by her side - the aforementioned Loebbaka, and another now-sophomore, Saige Burton (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango). Slater could look to build on the ground built with either of those players, as they both slot in well alongside the Schenectady senior.
 
Burton had a solid rookie season in her own right, participating in five singles matchups in either the #5 or #6 singles slot. She also took on a plethora of doubles matchups, splitting her time between the #2 and #3 doubles matchups. Burton would achieve a victory in one of her #2 doubles outings, taking home a win alongside former player Camryn Donley (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham), who was one of four different players that Burton played alongside in 2025. Burton's ability to match her play to many different teammates could prove valuable in the upcoming campaign.
 
Andrea May (McGraw, NY/McGraw) took advantage of some solid opportunities in her first season of collegiate tennis, bringing in a victory in one of her two singles outings. She achieved the big win as a part of the team's combined toppling of Russell Sage. May would grab that victory in the #6 singles slot, and looks to climb the depth chart heading into her final season with the program.
 
Alex Roberts (Sauquoit, NY/Sauquoit Valley) also enters her final season with the program and will look to gain momentum after joining the squad late last season. Roberts, another of the program's three grad students, will seek some solid singles and doubles opportunities this season.
 
Sophomore Eh Nay Than (Utica, NY/Thomas R. Proctor) rounds out the returners, with the local product from Proctor seeking some singles action after a 2025 season in which she was used primarily for doubles play.
 
A Look at the Remarkable Rookie Class: The Pioneers will suit up four new players this coming season, with the reinforcements entirely from the freshman class. Each of these players has made waves in the local area, with the entire quartet being graduates of Section III programs.
 
Averi Kraeger (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) is familiar with the Utica area, as the Whitesboro grad joins the collegiate ranks after four years of high school tennis. Kraeger, who also participated in Nordic Ski for her first three years of high school, hopes to take her background in the sport of tennis and immediately slot into a stellar role with the orange and blue.
 
Kendra Conte (Baldwinsville, NY/Baldwinsville) and Aubrie Morris (Baldwinsville, NY/Baldwinsville) both make the move down the thruway from the Syracuse area, as the pair of Baldwinsville graduates join the team ahead of the 2026 season. Conte also had a solid career in lacrosse during her middle school and early high school years, while Morris was also a stellar volleyball athlete, winning three-straight Section III Championships over her first three years of high school.
 
The final freshman hails from just north of Baldwinsville, as Kiertsyn Ford joins the team after graduating from Mexico Academy in Mexico, New York. Ford also had a great six-year career in varsity cheer for the Tigers.
 
At the Helm: Head Coach John Nigro will enter his impressive 39th season as the head coach of the Pioneers in 2026, 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!
 
* = Empire 8 Contest
 
Wednesday, September 2nd - at Oneonta State - 3:30 PM
Saturday, September 5th - vs Alfred University* - 1:00 PM
Wednesday, September 9th - vs SUNY Cortland - 3:30 PM
Friday, September 11th - vs Oswego State - 4:00 PM
Saturday, September 12th - at St. John Fisher* - 4:00 PM
Friday, September 18th - at Hartwick College* - 4:00 PM
Saturday, September 19th - vs SUNY Geneseo* - 1:00 PM
Saturday, September 26th - at Houghton University* - 12:00 PM
Tuesday, September 29th - vs Russell Sage College* - 4:00 PM
Friday, October 2nd - at SUNY Brockport* - 4:00 PM
Saturday, October 3rd - vs Nazareth University* - 1:00 PM
 
Scouting Oneonta: The team travels to Oneonta for a season-opening meeting with the Red Dragons next Wednesday. Oneonta finished the fall portion of the 2025-2026 season with a record of 5-7 overall and 1-4 in SUNYAC play. The Red Dragons' strongest returning players include Annika Cripe and Haley Peck, who both earned Second Team All-SUNYAC honors last season. Cripe finished the year with a 7-5 singles record, including a 7-5 mark at No. 2 singles, while Peck went 6-12 at No. 1 singles. The pair also formed Oneonta's top doubles team, finishing 7-5 overall and 2-2 in conference play, including wins over the No. 1 doubles teams from Cortland, Fredonia and Oswego. Taylor Plue also returns after posting a 9-7 singles record, including a 7-3 mark at No. 3 singles, while Ashley Glaviano and Kiersten Rufrano return after combining for a 5-2 record as the Red Dragons' No. 3 doubles team. Oneonta returns much of its core from last season, with Cripe, Peck, Plue, Glaviano, Rufrano, Dakota Jimenez, Jaila Killingbeck, Trinity Lyons and Kaitlyn Jones all listed on the 2026-27 roster.
 
Scouting Alfred University: Alfred University finished the 2025-26 season with a program-record 14-6 overall record and went 5-3 in Empire 8 play. In the fall, they went 11-5. The Saxons advanced to the Empire 8 semifinals after defeating St. John Fisher 4-2 in the opening round, before falling to eventual champion Hartwick, 4-0. Alfred's top returning singles player is Becca Epping, who finished last season with a 14-5 record and went 4-3 in conference play, while Allison Windisch also posted a 14-5 singles record and went 4-3 in Empire 8 matches. Elizabeth Madsen returns after going 7-7 in singles and earning Third Team All-Empire 8 honors, while Alyssa Seegert returns after finishing 6-8. The Saxons also return Alexis Gits, who went 13-4 in singles and finished the season on a seven-match winning streak, as well as Anastasia Shaw, who went 6-3. In doubles, Gits and Windisch were Alfred's most successful returning tandem, finishing 10-5 together, while Seegert and Epping went 5-4. Alfred's current roster includes Epping, Gits, Madsen, Moore, Seegert, Shaw and Windisch, giving the Saxons seven returners from last year's record-setting squad.
 
After next Week's Matches: The Pioneers will be busy following next week's action, as they'll face three tough opponents the following week. The week begins with the Pioneers playing their second consecutive home contest, welcoming SUNY Cortland on Wednesday, September 9th, for a 3:30 PM fixture. Then, on the weekend, the team will play back-to-back days on Friday and Sunday. Friday, September 11th, the Oswego State Lakers come to town, battling the Pioneers at 4:00 PM to complete the hosts' three-match homestand. On Saturday, September 12th, the Pioneers will head to St. John Fisher to restart conference play with a 4:00 PM clash against the Cardinals.
 
Check out the women's tennis schedule to see when you can catch the team on the court!