Votes were split perfectly between reigning conference champion and NCAA finalist Pomona-Pitzer Colleges and a Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges team that has won three national titles in the past seven seasons according to the 2026 SCIAC Women’s Tennis Preseason Poll, as voted by the league’s head coaches.
Ranked fifth entering the season after a semifinals appearance in the NCAA Championship, the Athenas boast singles national title winner
Lindsay Eisenman as well as ITA Cup doubles champion partner
Rebecca Kong who also reached the singles title match following a standout rookie campaign. A typically hyped tennisrecruiting.net class matching that No. 5 ranking includes Fall ITA West Regional finalist
Ananya Srikenth and semifinalist
Shifali Dinesh.
The Sagehens are ranked third coming into the season with Coaching Staff of the Year winner
Mike Morgan looking to a lone returning but three-time All-Conference honoree,
Lauren Rha. The senior was one of four Sagehens to crack the top nine of the West Region singles rankings by season’s end. TRN’s seventh-rated recruiting class is headlined by
Mireille Chedid-Daley, who reached the semifinal of the Fall ITA Regional.
No. 31 University of Redlands star
Maegan Deng has earned First Team All-SCIAC nods in both seasons, including a Newcomer of the Year campaign in 2024. The junior made the semifinals of the Fall ITA Regional singles draw and teamed with
Lindsey Whelan to come within two games of reaching the doubles final. Ranked close behind at No. 33, Caltech welcomes new head coach
Rachel Viollet who will have a mix of experienced returners and potential impact newcomers. Holdovers
Carissa Gerung and
Polaris Hayes picked up a doubles win in the Fall ITA Regional, as did
Katelyn Waugh and
Aoi Kunimoto in the singles B flight.
Second Team All-SCIAC nod
Anya Rajan and
Kylee Limpias reached the ITA Regional backdraw semifinals for California Lutheran University. SCIAC Newcomer of the Year
Greta Nagy fronts a dangerous Occidental College team along with doubles partner
Elina Shalaev, with the tandem earning All-America status with a win at the ITA Cup.
Chapman University lineup mainstays
Chloe McBride and
Lucy Wallin went a combined 6-1 between courts #5 and #6 in conference play. Whittier College returns to the courts with a full squad including
Rhea Gagnepain and
Paige Valenzuela, who picked up a win in the doubles backdraw at the ITA Regional.
Scrimmages and non-DIII matches litter the early days of February before a couple Northwest Conference regional clashes for CLU and Oxy on Feb. 13 to kick off a busy weekend that involves almost all eight teams in action.
2026 SCIAC Women’s Tennis Preseason Poll
1. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 60 points (4-first-place votes)
1. Pomona-Pitzer, 60 pts (4)
3. Redlands, 42 pts
4. Caltech, 38 pts
5. California Lutheran, 32 pts
6. Occidental, 26 pts
7. Chapman, 22 pts
8. Whittier, 8 pts
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