Bridgewater, NJ -- It’s awards season, and the Northeast Conference's (NEC) top two women's tennis programs didn’t just win matches, they served up a clean sweep of the league's top honors.
In an already historic season for Saint Francis U, sophomore
Diana Zuba (Marlboro, NJ/Marlboro) took home the Red Flash’s first-ever NEC Player of the Year honor after leading SFU to a program-best 16 wins and its first NEC title match appearance in program history.
Following in Zuba’s footsteps,
Dasha Chichkina (Richboro, PA/Council Rock High School South) became the second SFU freshman in as many years to garner NEC Rookie of the Year accolades.
In his first season behind the wheel in Teaneck, FDU head coach and legendary alum
Alex Cole led his Knights to their seventh conference title, and was honored by his peers as NEC Coach of the Year.
Following up her remarkable rookie campaign with a stellar sophomore season, Zuba won a league-best 27 singles matches and her .750 win percentage tied for second in the league. The three-time NEC Player of the Week went 17-4 at No. 1 singles - nine more wins any other NEC player at the top flight - and she posted a 9-2 mark against league opponents. Zuba's résumé included wins over opponents from Army, Seton Hall, Quinnipiac, Lafayette, Buffalo, Dayton, Bucknell and George Washington. The Marlboro, NJ native cruised through her opponents at the NEC Tournament, winning all three of her matches in straight sets and dropping just 14 games in the process to land on the All-Tournament Team for the second straight year. Zuba became the sixth player in conference history to earn both NEC Player of the Year and NEC Rookie of the Year awards.
Compiling a 24-8 solo mark, Chichkina took home five NEC Rookie of the Week honors along with a pair of NEC Rookie of the Month kudos. She wasted little time making an impact in the collegiate ranks, winning her first nine matches of her freshman campaign. Playing the majority of her matches at the second flight, Chichkina went 11-4 at No. 2 along and won eight-of-nine matches against NEC squads. Her 24 wins were second only to Zuba, and her .750 win percentage tied for second-best in the conference. The Richboro, PA native, who was the lone freshman named to the All-NEC first team, collected non-conference singles victories over players from Siena, Temple, Seton Hall, Quinnipiac, Army, Bucknell, Lafayette, Bucknell and George Washington. The rookie also impressed during the Red Flash’s run to their first-ever NEC title match, earning a spot on the NEC All-Tournament Team.
The dynamic duo of Zuba and Chichkina teamed up for 20 double wins with 11 of them coming on the first court. Additionally, they went 6-2 in conference play to earn a spot on the All-NEC doubles first team. Both players were also vote to the All-Conference singles first team with this being Zuba’s second nod to the top squad.
In his debut season as head coach, Cole kept FDU’s winning tradition alive as he led the Knights to their first title since 2016 and its seventh overall, which is tied for second-most in league history. The Knights went a perfect 8-0 against NEC opponents while posting an 11-7 overall mark, earning non-conference wins over St. John’s, Bryant and Fairfield. FDU earned the top seed in the NEC Tournament, then knocked off LIU in the semis before claiming a 4-1 win over Saint Francis U in the final at Mercer County Park. Cole, a FDU Athletics Hall of Fame honoree, is no stranger to bringing home hardware to Teaneck as he was a two-time Flight “A” NEC Singles Champion (1996, 1997) and won multiple NEC doubles titles while never losing a home match during his time on the courts for FDU. Cole joined three-time winner Ira Miller and two-time honoree Jonathan Buchman as NEC Coach of the Year winners from FDU.
AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS
As always, the All-NEC selections are a diverse crew, with honorees hailing from 13 different countries.
Eight of the 12 All-Conference singles picks were upperclassmen, showcasing a veteran-dominant group.
Conference champion FDU led the way with four All-NEC honorees. LIU, Mercyhurst and Saint Francis U were tied for second with two picks a piece, while Stonehill and Wagner each landed one player on the All-Conference singles list.
The Knights were led by three-time all-stars
Namie Isago (Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil/Colégio Saber) and
Anastasia Lim (Kazan, Russia), with both earning first team distinction. Isago was one of the top players in the league, winning 16 solo contests with seven of them coming at the top flight. Lim totaled 14 triumphs, including a 4-1 mark in NEC play. Isago claimed five NEC weekly/monthly honors this year while Lim garnered NEC Player of the Week accolades on March 27. Both players were previously lauded with All-NEC singles second team recognition in 2023 and 2024.
Representing FDU on the singles second squad was graduate
Alena Kubanova (Kazan, Russia/Gymnasium No. 7) and junior
Yelena Kim (Almaty, Kazakhstan/University of Texas at Tyler). Playing almost all her matches from the third spot, Kubanova won nine matches at No. 3 while racking up 15 overall victories to take home her third All-NEC second team nod. Kim, who was tabbed the 2025 NEC Tournament MVP, won 14 singles contests over the course of the season. She rose to the occasion in the postseason, clinching FDU’s 4-3 semifinal win over LIU before registering a straight-set victory in the final to help the Knights topple SFU. Lim and Kubanova represented their shared hometown of Kazan, Russia well as they went a perfect 7-0 in doubles play this season to collect All-NEC doubles first team laurels.
In its inaugural season as an NEC member, Mercyhurst made its mark. Senior
Kayla Dean (Port Saint Lucie, FL/Laurel Springs School) put together a season that was deemed first team-worthy as she went 12-8 in solo matches. Dean teamed up with fellow senior
Roisin Murphy (Castlebar, Mayo, Ireland/St. Joseph’s Secondary) to win eight doubles bouts and earn second team accolades. The Lakers also picked up a spot on the All-Conference singles second team courtesy of sophomore
Daria Rogova (Kharkiv, Ukraine/Kharkiv Gymnasium 116). Rogova paced the NEC with an .800 singles winning percentage on the strength of a 16-4 record. She also went 9-2 mark from the second flight and 3-1 against league foes.
Eight-time league champion LIU made its annual appearance on the All-NEC list with a pair of two-time award winners. Graduate student
Lucia Garrigues (Valencia, Spain/Esclavas (Chattanooga)) upgraded her second team spot to a first team designation after a nine-win campaign that saw the Valencia, Spain native win six of her last nine and post a 6-1 NEC record playing out of the top flight. After picking up first team accolades in 2024, sophomore
Mia Tsoukalas (Adelaide, South Australia, Australia/Immanuel College) impressed once again this year, earning a spot on the second team. She went 6-2 against conference opponents to claim second team accolades and was named to the NEC All-Tournament team after chalking up a pair of No. 3 singles wins in the postseason.
The No. 1 pairing of Garrigues and Tsoukalas also put on quite the show in doubles play with a perfect 7-0 mark against league opponents to nab a spot on the All-NEC first team.
Joining Chichkina and Zuba, the Red Flash delivered one more All-NEC caliber doubles team. Sophomores
Sara Jankovic (Itasca, IL/Lake Park) and
Reagan Mangan (Goshen, KY/North Oldham) have now earned back-to-back All-Conference doubles second team laurels after going 17-10 in 2024-25 with a quality 8-4 record on the second court.
Piecing together a program-best 3-3 conference record, Stonehill sophomore
Julie Holte (Oslo, Norway/Persbraten) earned distinction as the first Skyhawk to attain All-NEC honors. An All-Rookie selection a year ago, Holte was selected to the second team after going 8-7 at No. 1 singles, including a 5-1 record in the NEC. Holte and junior
Anneliese Beltran (Mexico City, Mexico/IMG Academy) banded together for a 12-4 record at No. 1 doubles, with four of those wins coming against conference foes. The duo were voted to the second team.
Rounding out the All-NEC singles second team was rookie
Victoria Madail (Maturin, Venezuela/International School of Monagas) from Wagner. One of two freshmen to earn All-NEC status, Madail was instrumental in the sixth-seeded Seahawks' run to the NEC semifinals. Madail won 15 matches in her debut season with a 4-2 mark in league play.
The future is bright on Grymes Hill as Wagner had two freshmen tabbed to the All-NEC squad, which tied for the most with SFU.
Madail was joined by teammate
Liepa Sataite (Šiaulia, Lithuania/King’s InterHigh), while the Red Flash included Chichkina and
Morgan Tuffs (Calgary, Alberta, Canada/Grandview Prepatory).
Rounding out the All-Rookie team were FDU’s
Ann Kato (Aliso Viejo, CA/Aliso Niguel) and Binghamton’s
Clara Arbeloa Lopez (Valencia, Spain/Cambridge House British International School).
This marked the seventh year that All-NEC honors were awarded without flight designations.
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 44th season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of nine institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Chicago (#3), Boston (#8). Hartford/New Haven (#32) and Syracuse (#87). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 25 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC full member institutions include Central Connecticut, Chicago State, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Mercyhurst, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (
www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (
www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.