A former professional on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour, Alexandra McIntyre (formerly Anghelescu) enters her eighth season as head coach of the Penn State women's tennis program in 2026-27. Since being named the program's 11th head coach on July 1, 2019, McIntyre has guided the Nittany Lions through one of the most successful stretches in recent program history, elevating Penn State's competitiveness within the Big Ten while developing standout student-athletes on and off the court.
The 2026 campaign marked another strong season under McIntyre's leadership, as Penn State secured 14 dual-match victories for the second-consecutive year and posted an impressive 12-3 record at home. The Nittany Lions earned five Big Ten victories over Michigan State, Maryland, Rutgers, Purdue and Oregon while advancing to the Big Ten Tournament for the sixth-straight season. Sophomore Patricia Grigoras garnered second-team All-Big Ten honors and College Sports Communicators Academic All-District recognition, highlighting the program's continued emphasis on excellence on and off the court.
Penn State enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2025, compiling 14 victories for the first time since 2013 and earning its highest-ranked win in at least two decades with a dramatic 4-3 triumph over No. 14 USC. The Nittany Lions were nationally ranked for the final 11 weeks of the season, climbing as high as No. 33 in the ITA Poll. Olivia Dorner earned second-team All-Big Ten recognition, Patricia Grigoras was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, and Dorner teamed with Maiko Uchijima to capture the ITA Northeast Regional doubles title and qualify for the NCAA Doubles Championships, marking Penn State's first appearance at the NCAA Individual Championships since 2012.
McIntyre has consistently positioned the Nittany Lions among the Big Ten's rising programs. During the 2024 season, Penn State earned ranked victories over Michigan State, Rutgers and Maryland, while Sofiya Chekhlystova secured her third-career All-Big Ten honor and second CSC Academic All-District recognition. In 2023, the Nittany Lions recorded 12 wins, highlighted by Chekhlystova's All-Big Ten campaign and a breakout freshman season from Dorner. Penn State also returned to the national rankings in 2022, reaching as high as No. 61 while posting 11 victories and five conference wins.
In just her second season at the helm, McIntyre guided Penn State to a 9-7 Big Ten record during the 2021 campaign, marking the program's first winning conference record since 2015. Senior Gabby O'Gorman earned unanimous All-Big Ten honors that season. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic shortening her inaugural 2020 campaign, McIntyre led the Nittany Lions to five victories in 10 matches before the remainder of the spring season was canceled.
Prior to taking over the Penn State program, McIntyre spent the 2018-19 season as an assistant coach with the Nittany Lions, helping guide the team to 11 dual-match victories, its highest total since 2015. Penn State climbed to No. 49 in the ITA rankings, its first top-50 appearance since 2016, and defeated then-No. 48 VCU for the program's first win over a ranked opponent since 2015.
Before arriving in Happy Valley, McIntyre served as a volunteer assistant coach at North Carolina during the 2017-18 season. She helped the Tar Heels capture the ITA National Indoor Championship and ACC Tournament title while maintaining the nation's No. 1 ranking for 10 consecutive weeks. North Carolina finished the season with five All-Americans, five NCAA Individual Championship qualifiers and a doubles team that advanced to the NCAA semifinals. McIntyre also worked as a certified tennis professional at Life Time Fitness in Alpharetta, Georgia, served as a coach at the 2018 USTA National Spring Team Championships and contributed to the USTA Southern Section High Performance Camp as a selected coach.
As a player, McIntyre competed collegiately at both Georgia and Georgia Tech, where she achieved a top-10 ITA doubles ranking and helped the Yellow Jackets maintain a top-15 national ranking while advancing to the Round of 16 at both the ITA National Indoor Championships and NCAA Championships. A native of Johns Creek, Georgia, she later competed professionally on the WTA Tour, reaching career-high rankings of No. 935 in singles and No. 957 in doubles. Among her most notable accomplishments as a junior player was a victory over future U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens.
McIntyre graduated from Georgia Tech in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in business administration.