KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Loyola Wolf Pack women's tennis team climbed two spots in the national rankings Thursday to finish the season No. 8 overall in the final NAIA Women's Tennis Top 25 Coaches' Poll of the 2025-26 campaign.
[Full postseason top 25 list]
The Wolf Pack jumped into the Top 8 after the team's third-straight appearance in the quarterfinal round at the NAIA National Championship. Loyola swept an opening-round matchup with Oklahoma Wesleyan, then upset then-No. 4 Southeastern to advance to the quarterfinal, where they fell against No. 3-ranked Tennessee Wesleyan.
Loyola finished the season with a 10-8 overall record, marking the team's fourth consecutive season with at least 10 dual match victories.
Graduate student Adele Fereres led the team in singles wins for the second consecutive season, posting a 12-3 record in the spring. She also led the team in doubles wins, going 5-3 with Micaela Ponce and 5-3 with Avery Frierson for a 10-6 doubles record. Frierson went 9-4 in doubles and 8-6 in singles. Avrora Volkova also had an 8-6 singles record.
Presha Shanthamoorthi, who had a great start to her college career by winning SSAC Freshman of the Year honors, put together a 9-6 record in singles and 8-9 record in doubles. Fellow freshman Sofia Amodu went 5-8 in doubles and an impressive 6-3 in singles.
In her last season in New Orleans, Micaela Ponce faced top competition all year, playing every match on the No. 1 singles court and nearly every match on the No. 1 doubles court. With a a 5-9 record in singles and 9-7 record in doubles, she helped take down some of the top doubles teams in the NAIA, splitting time with Fereres and Shanthamoorthi. Ponce also was named a Third-Team NAIA All-American, becoming just the second Wolf Pack tennis player to collect multiple NAIA All-America honors.
The final ITA rankings, which also had the Wolf Pack at No. 8, also recognized a few Loyola players individually. Fereres checked in at No. 42 in NAIA singles, while Shanthamoorthi reached No. 65. Both of Loyola's top two doubles teams landed inside the top 20: Fereres and Frierson at No. 18 and
Micaela Ponce and
Presha Shanthamoorthi at No. 20. For their efforts earlier in the season, the team of Fereres and Ponce also remained in the rankings at No. 47.
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