Match #1
ART U Urban Knights (0-0) vs. Menlo Oaks (0-0)
Sunday, February 2, 2025 at 10 a.m.
Livermore, Calif. – The Club at Livermore
Live Results

Poised to defend the first Pacific West Conference Championship in program history, No. 22 Academy of Art women's tennis readies for an exciting 2025 campaign ahead. Six familiar faces join Head Coach Nicole Briceño in returning to lead the Urban Knights toward another deep NCAA Division II postseason run.

Competing at home inside The Club at Livermore three times through its first four matches ART U, picked by 12 of the 17 conference programs to finish first in the preseason poll, opens by hosting new PacWest member Menlo (Feb. 2) then traveling to Stanislaus State (Feb. 8) before returning to face Dominican (Feb. 14) and another new addition to the conference in Jessup (Feb. 21). The Knights will be on the road for much of March, starting in Southern California at Concordia (Mar. 7) and Point Loma (Mar. 8) then coming back to host Westmont (Mar. 14) and Chaminade (Mar. 18). Following a trip to Fresno Pacific (Mar. 22), Academy of Art will be in Hawaii for three contests versus Hawaii Pacific (Mar. 26), UH Hilo (Mar. 27), and Chaminade (Mar. 28). ART U then returns to the Bay Area for a quick drive to Dominican (Apr. 6) and Senior Day against Stanislaus State (Apr. 11) ahead of the PacWest Conference Championship Tournament once again in Surprise, Ariz. on Apr. 16-19. For a more in-depth look at the 2024 schedule, click here!

Entering their final collegiate seasons, Maria Vittoria Casucci and Paulina Alvarez bring a combined eight years of experience with Academy of Art into 2025. Casucci's 25 singles victories have her just outside the program's top 15 all-time while Alvarez ranks seventh in singles win percentage (.730) after triumphing in 27 of her 37 matches thus far.

Jessica Plazas carries quite a resume into her junior season, coming off ITA West Region Player To Watch and All-PacWest Second Team (singles) in 2024. Second in ART U history in singles win percentage (.806) at 25-6 and top five in doubles win percentage (.724) at 21-8, the Acting major begins the spring ranked sixth regionally and 43rd nationally in singles.

Academy of Art's sophomore class features the trio of Amelija Supulniece, Estelle Najean, and Georgiana Parr. Supulniece rode the momentum of becoming an ITA All-American (singles) as well as PacWest Freshman of the Year, 2024 All-PacWest First Team (singles), and 2024 All-PacWest Second Team (doubles) into hoisting the ITA West Region title this past fall. She prepares to debut with the top regional singles ranking as well as a No. 15 national marker while Najean checks in at fourth regionally and No. 32 nationally in singles.

The Urban Knights also add one freshman to the roster in Stefani Georgieva, a transfer from Florida National.

Looking to continue riding the momentum generated from a historic 2024 season, Academy of Art steps onto the court united this weekend.