LHU Women’s Tennis Returns after 27 Year Absence

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Sunday, Sept. 15 looks to be a special day for Lock Haven University and LHU athletics as women’s tennis officially returns. The Bald Eagles will host local-competition as they play host to Lycoming College at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

The match marks the official return of women’s tennis. It was announced back on August 6, 2018 that LHU was adding two varsity sports and women’s tennis was one of them. Previously, LHU sponsored varsity women’s tennis from for 25 seasons from 1968 through 1992.

Lycoming competed at the King’s College Invitational last weekend and will host Elizabethtown on Saturday at 11 a.m. Last season, the Warriors were 4-11.

Central-Pennsylvania native John Machak was selected as the head coach February 4, 2019 and will look to rebuild the program from the ground up starting this fall.

Prior to LHU, Machak, a Renovo native, spent three years coaching at the NCAA Division III level at Penn College in Williamsport. He served as the head coach for both the men’s and women’s programs.

Last spring (April 2018), Machak led the DIII Penn College men’s program to a successful season. He led a pair of student-athletes to individual titles at their respective positions. Following that success, Machak was named the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Coach of the Year, becoming the first Penn College coach in program history to earn coach of the year honors in the sport of tennis. On the women’s side last spring, he led one player to All-NEAC honors. In all, Machak coached four First-Team All-Conference players, five Second-Team players, and one Third-Team student-athlete while at Penn College.

Heading into the opening weekend of the 2019-20 season, the Lock Haven roster features seven student-athletes including two local high school graduates in McCartney Register from Central Mountain High School and Hailey Risley from Bucktail High School. Other team members are Victoria Bensinger, Jayna Brodnicki, Kayla Mushala, Kristen Neavling and Delani Wolever.

Sunday’s match with Lycoming marks the first of two home dates during the fall portion of the season. LHU will also host Penn College on Homecoming Saturday (September 28) at 1 p.m.

During the fall, the Bald Eagles will also play at the Bloomsburg Invitational (September 21-22) and LHU will travel to Misericordia on October 2. Lock Haven will round out the fall season at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Singles & Doubles Championships, hosted by Bloomsburg on October 5-7.

Historically, LHU has had success on the courts. The Bald Eagles went undefeated during the 1973 and 1983 season and hold over 100 total victories. Lock Haven has also crowned seven individual conference champions.

This will mark Lock Haven’s first home women’s varsity tennis match since October 3, 1992.