WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College women's tennis team looks to build off their historic 2025-26 campaign in 2026-27.
 
2025-26 Season Review: The Presidents started the year on a four-match winning streak with victories over Pitt-Greensburg (5-2), Seton Hill (4-3), Saint Vincent (6-1), and Mount Union (4-3). The team dropped one match but then picked up an additional four wins in a row. This second streak included victories against Thiel (7-0), Geneva (5-2), West Liberty (6-1), and Westminster (6-1).
 
The Red & Black closed out the regular season with a 7-0 win over Waynesburg to enter the PAC Championships as the No. 4 seed.
 
In the post season, W&J picked up their first postseason win since the 2020-21 season with a 4-2 win over Geneva. The Presidents' ultimately fell in the semi finals to the top seed and eventual champions Allegheny.
 
In the Spring, the team opened with a 5-2 win against Carlow. W&J also picked up two additional victories with wins over Penn State Behrend (6-1) and Franciscan (5-2) on their trip to Hilton Head, S.C. 
 
The Red & Black closed out the 2025-26 campaign with a 5-2 senior recognition win over Baldwin Wallace. Overall, the 2025-26 campaign was the first season that the team finished with at least 10 wins since 2019.
 
Head Coach Matt Lynch on the 2025-26 campaign: "Overall, I would look at last year in a positive manner. A few highlights being the wins we were able to establish as well as advancing to the semis of the PAC tournament. We fought hard but ultimately fell short against conference teams higher on the preseason poll."  
 

2026 PAC Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish)
School (first-place votes)	Points	2025-26 record (conference)
1. Allegheny College (9)	73	16-7 (8-0 PAC)
2. Grove City College (1)	65	13-4 (7-1 PAC)
3. Franciscan University	52	10-8 (6-2 PAC)
4. Washington & Jefferson College	49	14-6 (5-3 PAC)
5. Geneva College	40	7-8 (4-4 PAC)
6. Saint Vincent College	33	12-13 (3-5 PAC)
7. Westminster College	31	3-9 (2-6 PAC)
8. Waynesburg University	17	8-9 (1-7 PAC)
9. Thiel College	9	0-14 (0-8 PAC)
Saint Francis University	---	16-9 (6-1 NEC)

 

PAC Players to Watch
Name	Yr.
Maya Hamade (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) (HM/HM)	So.
Claire Loomis (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) (2/2)	Sr.
Keiran Moorhead (Canonsburg, Pa./Peters Township) (HM/2)	So.

 
Newcomers: W&J welcomes two newcomers to the roster as part of the Class of 2030.

Faith Hohn (Washington, Pa./Trinity)			Fr.
Keira Ross (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park)			Fr.

 
"Our two freshmen Keira Ross (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) and Faith Hohn (Washington, Pa./Trinity) mesh well with the others on the team. They are both committed and show up to practice with a great attitude ready to work hard and improve. They are both promising players and I look forward to coaching them for the rest of their careers."   
 
Returners: The Presidents return all but one of their starting lineup from last season. Senior captain Claire Loomis (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) returns to the lineup following her All-PAC Second Team performance last year at No. 1 singles and doubles. Loomis, alongside partner Keiran Moorhead (Canonsburg, Pa./Peters Township), went 11-7 last season at the No. 1 doubles spot. Moorhead was also an All-PAC Honorable Mention at the No. 3 singles position. The sophomore finished her rookie campaign with a singles record of 14-3.
 
Sophomore Bella Graham (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) returns to the lineup after playing No. 2 singles and doubles for the Presidents last season. Graham received an All-PAC honorable mention in both singles and doubles, alongside partner Maya Hamade (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair). The tandem finished the 2025-26 season with an 11-7 record. Hamade also received an All-PAC Honorable Mention at the No. 4 singles spot with a 2025-26 record of 15-2, including only one PAC conference loss.
 
Sophomore Austyn Paugh (Jane Lew, W.Va./Notre Dame) received a PAC Newcomer of the week honor for her play at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles. Paugh had a singles record of 12-4 last season. At doubles, Paugh and partner Mackenzie Gumto (Renfrew, Pa./Knoch) went 7-4. The sophomore also played two matches with classmate Addison Jacobs (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield Area) and went 2-0.
 
"The sophomores helped us see a lot of success last year as freshman. They continue to develop and mature on court, so I am very excited to see what they can do as they start to gain more experience and confidence." 
 
 
Senior McKenzie Gensemer (Reading, Pa./Wilson) and sophomore Heather Ferguson (Reinholds, Pa./Cocalico) will both be looking to provide an increased role this season.
 
Loomis and Gumto were selected as captains for this upcoming campaign.
 
"Both players make excellent captains. They bring the right energy to practice and matches consistently. Having two upper class captains that consistently perform and lead by example makes my job keeping the team motivated easier." 
 
 
Coaching Staff: Head Coach Matt Lynch returns to the helm for his third season in charge. In his first season with the W&J Women's Tennis program, Lynch guided the Presidents to a 7-8 overall record (4-4 PAC). Lynch managed to continue W&J's now seven-year streak of making the PAC Tournament. During the season, W&J got off to its best start in conference play since the 2019 season with four-straight victories against conference foes. The women's team had four All-PAC selections that season.
 
Bailey Phillips joins that coaching staff for the 2026-27 season.
 
Previewing the 2026-27 Schedule: The women's tennis team opens their campaign with the two-day Allegheny Invitational on Saturday (Sept. 5). W&J will return home for a three match homestand against Pitt-Greensburg (Sept. 11), Seton Hill (Sept. 14), and Grove City (Sept. 16). The Red & Black will conclude September with a three-match road trip against Allegheny (Sept. 19), Saint Vincent (Sept. 25), and Baldwin Wallace (Sept. 26).
 
"Playing against DII schools is a great opportunity to experience a high level. Win or lose those matches helps us get better and prepare for conference matches. We will be playing in the Allegheny invitational this year to kick off our season. Each player will get at least 2-3 doubles and singles matches at the event, making it an ideal way to ramp up before the first dual match." 
 
W&J will have four additional home matches at the Janet Swanson Tennis Center. The remaining home opponents are Waynesburg (Sept. 30), Franciscan (Oct. 2), Kutztown (Oct. 10), and Geneva (Oct. 13). This is the first time in program history that W&J will be facing Division II Kutztown. Additional away matches in the month of October include Saint Francis (Oct. 7), Westminster (Oct. 9), and Thiel (Oct. 16). Senior recognition day is currently scheduled for the October 13^th match against Geneva.
 
"It is definitely one of our top goals to get back to the semis. The same players that got us there last year are returning plus the addition of a talented newcomer. I have confidence that this team will build off of the momentum from last year."
 
Final Thoughts from Coach Lynch: "I am excited that I have the privilege to continue to coach this team, and we are looking forward to accomplishing our goals this year. Go Presidents!"