The Penn State Altoona women's tennis team opens its 2021-22 season this Wednesday, September 15, and head coach Megan Stern is excited about what's to come.

"Overall, we have a very young team going into this season, but I am excited to watch everyone on the team continue to work and get better each practice," said Stern, who is entering her third year as the head coach of the women's squad. "I'm excited for the new season."

The Lions bring back two players from last year's roster, and they will also debut four first-year players.

The team's pair of returners are juniors Jenna Bartlett (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) and Stephanie Swain (Yadkin County, NC/Forbush). Bartlett went 1-1 in No. 5 singles last year, while Swain was 1-3 in No. 5 singles and 1-3 in No. 3 doubles.

"I look to our two returners, Jenna and Stephanie, to provide guidance and leadership to our newcomers on the team," said Stern. "They will round out our doubles lineup playing in the No. 3 slot. They have worked really hard on improving their footwork and increasing their net movement in doubles."

After the returners, Penn State Altoona has added four newcomers to the team: freshmen Caitlyn Dale (Lock Haven, PA/Central Mountain), Emily Neil (Altoona, PA/Altoona), Dabin Shin (Palisades Park, NJ/Palisades Park), and Jiayi Zhang (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood).

"Emily will lead the team at No. 1 singles and doubles. She's a natural leader and a very hard worker, and I'm looking forward to seeing her game progress this season," Stern explained. "Caitlyn is another newcomer on the team who has already shown growth in her singles and doubles play in practice, and she will pair nicely with Emily at No. 1 doubles. Dabin and Jiayi have been solid additions to the team and have great chemistry at No. 2 doubles, and they continue to work on improving their singles play."

Penn State Altoona women's tennis will have three home matches during September, the opening month of its schedule, as the Lions host non-conference opponents Saint Vincent College (Wednesday, September 15 at 4:00 p.m.) and Juniata College (Wednesday, September 22 at 4:00 p.m.), as well as Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference rival Mount Aloysius College (Sunday, September 26 at 1:00 p.m.). On the road during September, Penn State Altoona travels to face AMCC opponent Medaille College (Saturday, September 18 at 1:00 p.m.) and Division II opponent D'Youville College (Saturday, September 18 at 5:30 p.m.).

The Lions' October schedule consists of four home AMCC matches, as the team will face Penn State Behrend (Friday, October 1 at 4:00 p.m.), Pitt-Bradford (Sunday, October 3 at 1:00 p.m.), Pitt-Greensburg (Wednesday, October 6 at 5:00 p.m.), and La Roche University (Thursday, October 7 at 4:00 p.m.). If Penn State Altoona qualifies for the AMCC Tournament, the dates for the playoffs are Saturday, October 16 and Sunday, October 17 in Wexford, Pa.

The team is also scheduled to play a pair of non-conference matches during the spring semester, traveling to compete against Geneva College (Saturday, April 2; start time TBA) and Westminster College (Saturday, April 16 at 3:00 p.m.).