On Friday, the East Coast Conference released their annual preseason coaches poll for Women's Tennis. The polls has St. Thomas Aquinas College finishing third in the standings in 2019.
Last season, STAC went 7-14 and missed the postseason, however the Spartans showed themselves as an up-and-coming squad, filled with a mix of international and local talent that will be a formidable opponent this coming season and for seasons to come.
St. Thomas Aquinas College returns four very talented individuals in; Katarina Lopez (Sr./New City, NY), Maya O'Brien (So./Orangeburg, NY), Anna Ristova (Sr./Gothenburg, Sweden) and Cassandra Rohr (Jr./Mallorca, Spain) to the courts in Sparkill. Meanwhile, the addition of four new faces; Ayesha Burnett (Fr./Wellington, New Zealand), Carla Mentrup (So./Munich, Germany), Eliza Mulder (Fr./Schoonhoven, Netherlands) and Sofiia Shutko (Jr./Kiev Ukraine) will help the Spartans in not only a very competitive East Coast Conference, but also the NCAA Division II East Region.
Head Coach Matt Capell will once again be at the helm for the Spartans in 2019-2020. Assistant coaches Erin Murphy and Mike Tasaro also return, while former Men's Tennis standout, Andreu Ferragut-Lluch (2014-2018) joins the staff for his first season.
STAC will open the new season at Queens College on September 6th. St. Thomas Aquinas opens their home schedule at the Riley Family Tennis Courts on September 10th versus the College of Staten Island.
2019 ECC Women's Tennis Preseason Poll
| School | Pts. | 2018 Record |
| 1. Queens (6) | 36 | 14-4 (7-0 ECC) |
| 2. District of Columbia | 27 | 13-5 (5-2 ECC) |
| 3. St. Thomas Aquinas | 22 | 7-14 (2-5 ECC) |
| 4. Roberts Wesleyan | 19 | 10-9 (4-3 ECC) |
| 5. Daemen | 12 | 6-18 (0-7 ECC) |
| 6. Molloy | 10 | 5-6 (2-5 ECC) |
( ) - first place votes