The men’s and women’s tennis teams opened their season at the IUP Invitational last weekend. Other schools that competed at the two-day tournament included Duquesne, Edinboro, Frostburg and host IUP. SFU’s Helena Lynn and Morgan Tufts posted a doubles victory against IUP. Julia Ritchey and Annaka Bruder teamed up for a win over Frostburg.
In singles action, Lynn, Reagen Mangan and Nadia Zia-Ahmadi all opened the season with victories.
On the second day of competion at IUP, the women’s team posted six wins. Mangan captured a three-set victory to improve to 2-0 on the season.
On the men’s side last weekend, Kevin Titus Suresh won a pair of singles matches against Duquesne to also open his season at 2-0. In doubles action, the teams of Deven Pandey and Sebastian Quinones and Luke Mitchell and Nicholas Lamantia both posted 2-0 marks at IUP.
Pandey, Quinones and Lamantia also picked up singles victories at the season-opening event.
“All the invitationals this fall offer great opportunities for everyone to get good matches,” said Mitchell, a sophomore from Altoona. “There’s a lot of good teams and I can’t wait to get a chance to play against them.”
The men’s team returns to action this weekend, competing at the Bloomsburg Invitational, Sept. 11-12.
The women’s team also competes this weekend. Head coach Eric Hovan’s women’s squad hosts Geneva in Altoona on Friday before competing at the Bucknell Invitational on Sept. 12-13.
Tuffs, a junior team captain, is looking forward to the team’s competition in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference this season. She said that attitude will be important to the team’s success.
“My main goal is to have good team energy at every match and make sure we are having fun.”
While the women’s team – which captured a Northeast Conference title last season – lost some of its key players during the University’s transition to Division III – the 2026-27 roster includes some talented freshmen.
“We have some really hardworking newcomers,” said Lynn, a sophomore from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. “I think we have a good group and can compete at a really high level and have a successful season.”
