Startseva Earns All LEC First Team Honors, Macdonald Named to First Doubles Team

PAWTUCKET, R.I. – Salem State University's Anastasia Startseva (Volgograd, Russia) was named to the 2019 Little East Conference (LEC) First Team for the second straight season in a vote by the league's nine coaches. Last year's LEC Player of the Year compiled an 8-1 record at first singles, losing just three sets this season. In two years at Salem State, she has just one conference defeat, going 17-1 for a .944% winning percentage.    

Startseva also earned her second selection to the first team in doubles. Paired with first time honoree Meredith Macdonald (Lynn, Mass.), the duo went 8-2 at first doubles, which included a five-match winning streak to end the season.

RIC freshman Jenna Lisi was named the 2019 LEC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year after going undefeated at No. 1 singles in conference play. She was 6-0 at the top of the order in league play after going 3-0 at No. 2 to open the year. The Cranston, Rhode Island native was one of the seven Anchorwomen to be named a first or second team all-LEC selection.  

Lisi's overall record in singles play is 14-1 so far this season, with her lone loss coming against NCAA Division II Franklin Pierce University. She is additionally 15-1 in doubles play during her first collegiate season, which includes a 13-1 mark at No. 1 and has seen her play alongside five different teammates.

Spring was named the LEC Coach of the Year for the third consecutive year and for the fifth time overall during his eight-year tenure guiding Rhode Island College. The Anchorwomen were a near-perfect 15-1 during the regular season and were undefeated in LEC matches, dropping just five points in league play this season.

The Anchorwomen became the second program in LEC history to win three consecutive tournament championships after sweeping UMass Boston and Plymouth State University on their way to the 2019 LEC title, and are the first to accomplish that feat in the current team tournament format that began in 2008. RIC has won 32 consecutive LEC regular season and tournament matches, with its last loss to a LEC opponent coming in the 2016 Little East tournament final.

The complete all-conference listing is listed below. 

2019 LEC Women's Tennis All-Conferernce Awards