2026 NEC Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches Poll          1. FDU (unanimous)          2. Saint Francis          3. Le Moyne          4. LIU          5. Wagner          6. Binghamton          7. Stonehill          8. Chicago State          9. Mercyhurst          First place votes in parentheses

Bridgewater, NJ -- FDU is chasing history this spring, eyeing back-to-back crowns and a record-tying eighth women’s tennis title.

With the core of last year’s title team back in the fold, the Knights were selected as the unanimous preseason favorite, with 2025 runner-up Saint Francis slotted second.

Le Moyne placed third, followed by LIU in fourth, Wagner in fifth and Binghamton in sixth. Stonehill, Chicago State and Mercyhurst rounded out the poll in seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively.

FDU ran the table last season, posting a perfect 6–0 mark in conference play and winning both NEC Tournament matches to cap a flawless league campaign under alum and NEC Coach of the Year Alex Cole. The Burgundy and Blue return several key members of their 2025 championship team while also bolstering the lineup with young talent. Seniors Anastasia Lim (Kazan, Russia) and Yelena Kim (Almaty, Kazakhstan) earned All-NEC First Team and Second Team honors, respectively, a season ago, while sophomore Ann Kato (Alisa Viejo, CA/Aliso Niguel) will look to build off a freshman campaign that earned her an NEC All-Rookie Team nod.

Lim, a three-time NEC all-star, primarily competed at No. 2 singles last season, racking up 14 singles wins. Kim, the 2025 NEC Tournament MVP,  comes off a 13-win season in 2025, where she mostly played at the No. 4 slot. Both Lim and Kim compiled six singles wins during the fall season with Kim earning NEC Player of the Month honors for October.

Freshmen Sophia Fredericks-McKee (London, England/Latymer Upper School) and Oleksandra Ovsiienko (Dnipro, Ukraine/Novoaleksandrivsky Lyceum) enjoyed outstanding starts to their collegiate careers in the fall. Fredericks-McKee went 11-5 in singles play, while Ovsiienko finished the fall with a 10-6 mark. The pair won both NEC Rookie of the Month awards in the fall, with Ovsiienko honored in September and Fredericks-McKee in October. Ovsiienko represented the NEC at the ITA Conference Masters Tournament after winning the top singles flight at the NateRentals.com Binghamton Championships in September.
 
Saint Francis enters the 2026 season with positive momentum under fifth-year head coach Eric Hovan. After winning a program-record 14 matches a season ago and reaching their first-ever NEC final, the Red Flash will bring back several contributors, most notably 2025 NEC Rookie of the Year and All-NEC First Team Singles and Doubles selection Dasha Chichkina (Richboro, PA/Council Rock South). The sophomore had a historic debut campaign for the Red Flash a year ago, going 24-8 in singles and tying for second in program history for wins in a season with Kelly Dowuona (Brampton, Ontario/St. Marguerite d’Youville), who finished the year with a 24-12 singles mark. Dowuona shattered the program record for career wins last spring, ending the year with 110 wins over her three seasons in Loretto. The Red Flash also bring back All-Rookie Team selection Morgan Tuffs (Calgary, Alberta/Grandview Preparatory), who went 16-11 in singles action in 2025.

Chicago State makes its NEC women’s tennis debut this season after competing as an associate member of the Horizon League last season.
Mercyhurst is eligible for NEC postseason play for the first time but remains ineligible for NCAA championship participation during their reclassification.

New Haven did not appear in the poll because the Chargers are ineligible for the NEC Tournament this season during the first year of NCAA reclassification.

The NEC Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships return April 16–18 to their longtime home at Mercer County Park in West Windsor, NJ. The winner will earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

About The NEC
Now in its 45th season, the NEC is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of ten 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 (#9). Hartford/New Haven (#32) and Syracuse (#88). 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, New Haven, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league's official website (www.necsports.com) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.