Women's Tennis | 10/28/2025 11:00:00 AM
SUNY Geneseo junior
Natalie Pipes was named Empire 8 Player of the Year, while the Hartwick College duo of
Gianna Leggieri and
Phoebe Olson earned Doubles Team of the Year honors, as the league announced its 2025 Women’s Tennis All-Conference awards on Tuesday, October 28. Hartwick head coach
Samantha Butcher was named Coach of the Year, while
Sage Brinckerhoff of Houghotn University and
Lauren Levatino of Geneseo shared earned Rookie of the Year honors. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Pipes helped lead SUNY Geneseo a 7-1 mark in Empire 8 regular season play and its second straight trip to the Empire 8 Championship match. Playing at first singles, Pipes, an All-E8 first team selection, finished 8-0 in league play at singles and was 9-2 overall. She also earned All-Empire 8 first team honors with JoAnn Catalano at first doubles, earning a 6-2 mark in league play and recorded a 9-2 mark in doubles action overall.
Leggieri and Olson, named the E8 Doubles Team of the Year, finished 7-1 in league play and 11-3 overall at first doubles while also garnering All-E8 first team honors. Olson, who capped her career by being named the 2025 Empire 8 Women’s Tennis Championship Most Valuable Player, was previously the 2023 Empire 8 Player of the Year, 2022 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year and shared 2024 Doubles Team of the Year honors with Alexandra Krasinska.
Brinckerhoff enjoyed a tremendous debut for Houghton, leading her team to an E8 Tournament berth in program history and a berth in the league semifinals. Playing at first and second singles, Brinckerhoff finished 7-5 overall and teamed with Arija Grant to go 5-3 in E8 play at first doubles. Brinckerhoff earned All-Empire 8 second team honors in singles and third team doubles accolades.
Levatino finished 7-1 in league play and 10-1 overall, while playing at fourth, fifth, and sixth singles for Geneseo in 2025-26. She finished the season on a nine-match winning streak, en route to earning All-Empire 8 second team accolades in singles.
Butcher was named 205 Empire 8 Coach of the Year after leading Hartwick to its second straight Empire 8 Championship and third in the last four seasons. The Hawks went 13-2 overall during the 2025 fall season, including a 8-0 mark in league play, before defeating Alfred University and SUNY Geneseo in the Empire 8 Tournament to claim the title and earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis Championship, which takes place in May, 2026. Six of her student-athletes earned All-Empire 8 accolades in 2025. It is Butcher’s third E8 Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year award.
For a complete list of all-conference members and award winners, please see below. Empire 8 Champion Hartwick led the way with four student-athletes who earned first team accolades, while three SUNY Geneseo standouts were honored. Olson garnered her fourth straight first team accolade in doubles and garnered first team accolades in singles for the third time. Alina Zabihailo of Alfred, who was the 2022 Empire 8 Co-Rookie of the Year with Olson, earned her third All-E8 first team honor in singles, while Pipes and Samantha Rava of Geneseo in addition to Samantha Lantzy of Hartwick garnered All-E8 singles accolades for the second straight season. Catherine Zak of Nazareth also garnered All-E8 first tam accolades for the second time.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2025 Women's Tennis Tomorrow’s Leaders Team. This team honors a student-athlete who has emerged as a leader not only on the field of play, but in the classroom and in the community. In addition, they “compete with honor and integrity” and have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.
“Developing character and integrity is a hallmark of the Empire 8,” said E8 Executive Director
Chuck Mitrano. “This series is proof that Empire 8 and our member institutions are committed to intercollegiate athletics’ important role in higher education.”
2025 Empire 8 Women’s Tennis All-Conference Selections
Player of the Year: Natalie Pipes, Jr., SUNY Geneseo
Doubles Team of the Year: Phoebe Olson, Sr./Gianna Leggieri, Jr., Hartwick
Co-Rookie of the Year: Lauren Levatino, Fr., SUNY Geneseo
Co-Rookie of the Year: Sage Brinckerhoff, Fr., Houghton
Coach of the Year: Samantha Butcher, Hartwick
Empire 8 First Team – Singles
Alina Zabihailo, Sr., Alfred (Kyiv, Ukraine/Educational Complex #143)
Natalie Pipes, Jr., SUNY Geneseo (Victor, NY/Victor)
Samantha Rava, Jr., SUNY Geneseo (Fairport, NY/Fairport)
Samantha Lantzy, So., Hartwick (Valatie, NY/Ichabod Crane)
Phoebe Olson, Sr., Hartwick (Jamestown, ND/Jamestown)
Catherine Zak, Sr., Nazareth (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury)
Lily Miller, Jr., St. John Fisher (Skaneateles, NY/Skaneateles)
Empire 8 First Team – Doubles
Natalie Pipes, Jr./JoAnn Catalano, So., SUNY Geneseo
Phoebe Olson, Sr./Gianna Leggieri, Jr., Hartwick
Samantha Lantzy, Jr./Lily Vanuga, Sr., Hartwick
Empire 8 Second Team – Singles
Lauren Levatino, Fr., SUNY Geneseo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro)
Sage Brinckerhoff, Fr., Houghton (Savona, NY/Campbell-Savona)
Gianna Leggieri, Jr., Hartwick (Ballston Lake, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake)
Lily Vanuga, Sr., Hartwick (Springville, NY/Springville-Griffith Institute)
Maggie Van Valkenburgh, Sr., Hartwick (Highland, NY/Highland)
Empire 8 Second Team – Doubles
Rachel Molloy, So./Samantha Rava, Jr., SUNY Geneseo
Maggie Van Valkenburgh, Sr./Maddi Morrison, Sr., Hartwick
Catherine Zak, Sr./Kenna Ellis, Jr., Nazareth
Empire 8 Third Team – Singles
Becca Eppling, So., Alfred (Mitchell, IN/Bedford North Lawrence)
Elizabeth Madsen, Jr., Alfred (Portland, OR/Grant)
JoAnn Catalano, So., SUNY Geneseo (Williamson, NY/Williamson)
Rachel Molloy, So., SUNY Geneseo (Erieville, NY/Cazenovia)
Talia Wutz, Jr., SUNY Geneseo (Montgomery, NY/Valley Central)
Maddi Morrison, Sr., Hartwick (Ballston Lake, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake)
Lilly Renzi, Sr., St. John Fisher (Watertown, NY/Watertown)
Empire 8 Third Team – Doubles
Allison Windisch, Jr./Alexis Gits, Fr., Alfred
Ashleigh Fredriksen, Fr./Talia Wutz, Jr., SUNY Geneseo
Arija Grant, Sr./Sage Brinckerhoff, Fr., Houghton
Empire 8 Tomorrow’s Leaders Team
Allison Windisch, Jr., Alfred (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Sutherland)
Olivia Raschiatore, Sr., SUNY Brockport (Rochester, NY/East Rochester)
Samantha Rava, Jr., SUNY Geneseo (Fairport, NY/Fairport)
Maggie Van Valkenburgh, Sr., Hartwick (Highland, NY/Highland)
Arija Grant, Sr., Houghton (Kennebunk, ME/Kennebunk)
Catherine Zak, Sr., Nazareth (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury)
Katie Snell, Jr., Russell Sage (Valley Falls, NY/Greenwich)
Lilly Renzi, Sr., St. John Fisher (Watertown, NY/Watertown)
Victoria Elefante, Sr., Utica (Clinton, NY/Clinton)