ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's tennis team's quest for an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship begins this weekend, when the Lady Lions will start play in the conference tournament at Westwood Racquet Club in Erie.

After a first round bye, the second-seeded Lady Lions (8-4, 7-1 AMCC) will take on third seed Mount Aloysius College (12-2, 6-2 AMCC) in the semifinal round of the AMCC Tournament on Saturday, October 27. The match will start shortly after the conclusion of the 3:30 p.m. match between top seed Franciscan University and number four seed Medaille College.

In the regular season meeting between Penn State Altoona and Mount Aloysius on September 30, the Lady Lions battled to a 5-4 win at home over their nearby conference rivals. After the Lady Mounties took two out of three doubles matches, Penn State Altoona bounced back to win four of six singles matches to earn the one-point victory.

The Lady Lions, managed by sixth-year head coach Doug Simmons, enter the postseason on the heels of an excellent 2018 regular season. Penn State Altoona's seven AMCC wins are the most since 2001, when the team posted a perfect 8-0 conference record and went on to win the AMCC championship. In total, the Lady Lions have won two conference titles, the first in 2001 and the second in 2002.

In singles play, Jessica Stevens (Altoona, PA/Altoona) has led the way for Penn State Altoona this season. She posted a spotless 12-0 record in No. 1 singles, setting a new team record for the most singles wins in a season. Stevens was also named the AMCC Player of the Week on October 8.

Junior Victoria Acker (Cresson, PA/Penn Cambria) finished with the second-most wins on the team in singles, as she went 7-4 overall and 6-1 in the AMCC. Playing all but one of her singles matches in the fifth and sixth spots, Acker went 4-2 in No. 5 singles and 3-1 in the No. 6 slot.

Junior Brayley Lewis (Roaring Spring, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) was 6-6 overall as the Lady Lions' No. 2 singles player, including a 4-4 record against AMCC competition. Junior Annie Ruggles (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg) and sophomore Sophia Girol (South Park, PA/South Park) each recorded four AMCC wins in singles.

In doubles, the tandem of Lewis and Ruggles proved to be effective, posting a 6-3 overall record in No. 2 doubles that included a 4-2 mark in AMCC play. Acker and Sierra Snigier (Seaford, DE/Seaford) went 4-3 overall in No. 3 doubles, including a 4-2 record against conference opponents.

With a win over Mount Aloysius on Saturday, Penn State Altoona would advance to the AMCC Championship match on Sunday, October 28 at 1:30 p.m. The Lady Lions would play the winner of Saturday's match between Franciscan and Medaille.