Bridgewater, NJ -- In a season that saw a wave of new Northeast Conference (NEC) women’s tennis stars emerge, it was a seasoned NEC veteran who secured the league’s most prestigious honor to put an exclamation point on a star-studded career.
 
After leading her squad to a 17-4 overall record and the top-seed in this season’s NEC Tournament, senior Katsiaryna Starastsenka (Mogilev, Belarus/Mogilev City Gymnasium) became the first Sacred Heart player to be named NEC Player of the Year.
 
Saint Francis U’s Diana Zuba (Marlboro, NJ/Marlboro) capped off an impressive freshman campaign by winning NEC Rookie of the Year recognition.
 
In his first season at LIU, Chad Davis took home his third NEC Coach of the Year award after leading the Sharks to their conference record eighth NEC title.
 
Starastsenka was a dominant force all season long for the Pioneers, finishing with a league-best .840 singles winning percentage en route to posting a 21-4 record. The Mogilev, Belarus native went 17-1 at #1 singles and finished the season with a 7-1 mark against NEC opponents. Starastsenka ended the spring winning eight of her last nine matches. She earned a variety of non-conference victories, knocking off opponents from Villanova, Providence, College of Charleston, Saint Joseph’s, UConn, Monmouth, Stony Brook and Rhode Island. The senior, who was the February NEC Player of the Month and NEC Player of the Week on March 7, sparked Sacred Heart to an unbeaten regular season and a berth in the NEC semis for the third consecutive season. She was selected to the NEC All-Tournament team for the second consecutive year. A rare four-time first team All-NEC honoree, Starastsenka compiled a remarkable 65-25 singles mark during her four years in Fairfield.
 
Zuba hit the ground running for the Red Flash in her rookie campaign. The Marlboro, NJ native played all her singles dual matches from the top spot, where she went 16-5, while posting a 23-7 overall singles mark. Her 23 singles victories led the NEC. She was selected as the November NEC Rookie of the Month and went on to earn NEC Rookie of the Week honors twice in the spring. Zuba was also named NEC Player of the Week on March 14. Playing with the composure of a seasoned veteran, she posted a straight set win over 2023 NEC Player of Year Leo Boisseau in the Red Flash’s narrow 4-3 setback to LIU in the conference semis and was chosen to the NEC All-Tournament team. Zuba became the first Red Flash student-athlete to be tabbed NEC Rookie of the Year.
 
Keeping the program’s rich tradition alive in his first season with the Sharks, Davis helped LIU cement itself as the winningest program in NEC women’s tennis history. The Sharks won their conference record eighth league championship, which broke a tie for the top spot with Mount St. Mary’s. Davis, who previously was awarded NEC Coach of the Year honors on the men’s side in 2021 and 2023 during his tenure with St. Francis Brooklyn, guided LIU to an 11-5 overall record and 6-1 mark against NEC foes this season. Davis joined an exclusive group, becoming the seventh coach in NEC history to hoist the conference trophy in both the men’s and women’s divisions.
 
AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS
 
As always, the #NECelite tennis squads are a diverse group. The student-athletes selected to the 2024 All-NEC and All-Rookie teams hailed from 11 different countries.
 
Of the 12 players voted to the All-Conference singles teams, three were freshmen and five were underclassmen.
 
The last two teams standing in the 2024 NEC Tournament led the way with the most All-NEC selections with LIU and FDU totaling four picks apiece, while Sacred Heart and Saint Francis U sported two each.
 
The back-to-back NEC champion Sharks landed three singles first team honorees in seniors Leo Boisseau (Lavellois, France/Passy Saint-Honoré (Texas A&M CC)) and Saki Oyama (Osaka, Japan/Nagaodani (North Texas)), along with freshman Mia Tsoukalas (Adelaide, South Australia, Australia (Immanuel College)). Graduate student Lucy Garrigues (Valencia, Spain/Esclavas (Chattanooga)) was tabbed to the second team. Boisseau, the 2023 NEC Player of the Year, occupied the #1 spot for LIU all year and went 13-3 in dual matches while winning 17 total singles matches. Notably, she earned NEC Tournament MVP honors after clinching the Sharks’ 4-2 win over FDU with a three-set victory. Boisseau collected a trio of NEC Player of the Week awards and was the October NEC Player of the Month. Oyama played the majority of her matches at the #2 flight on her way to 11 wins and a second consecutive first team All-NEC nod. She was also tabbed to the NEC All-Tournament team. Garrigues won 11 matches split between the #2 and #3 positions. Tsoukalas heads into the NCAA Tournament with a 17-4 record and 5-0 slate against NEC foes. Her .810 win percentage ranked second in the league. The freshman from Australia was the October NEC Player and Rookie of the Month, and was also named NEC Rookie of the Week on April 9.
 
LIU claimed two of the three spots on the All-NEC doubles first team. The Boisseau-Garrigues duo won 12-of-13 matches, including a 6-0 record in conference playing at the #1 position. Tsoukalas, alongside senior Clara Tardivel (Asnières sur Oise, Paris, France/Gérard de Nerval (Southern Miss)), posted a 13-2 overall record and 6-0 NEC mark playing at #3 doubles.
 
Six-time champion and 2024 finalist FDU landed all four of their All-Conference singles selections on the second team in the form of junior Namie Isago (Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil/Colégio Saber), graduate student Alena Kubanova (Kazan, Russia/Gymnasium No. 7), sophomore Anastasia Lim (Kazan, Russia) and sophomore Valentina Silva (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Centro Educacional Espaço Integrado). Repeating as both a second team All-NEC and NEC All-Tournament selection, Isago posted a team-high 21 wins while going unbeaten against eight NEC opponents competing primarily at the #4 flight. Lim, the 2023 NEC Rookie of the Year and a back-to-back second team pick, won 12 singles matches while playing all but one of them at the #2 position. Isago and Lim played pivotal roles in FDU’s upset of No. 1 Sacred Heart in the NEC semis with straight set wins in their respective matches. Silva also put up a 20-win season, going 20-10 along with a 4-2 conference record and 8-3 record in #5 flight action. Kubanova occupied the top singles flight for the Knights and for the third straight year, teamed with Isago to earn All-Conference honors. The duo was named to the second team, winning five matches at the #1 position.
 
Starastsenka was joined on the first team by graduate student Ciara O’Toole (Dublin, Ireland/Our Lady’s School), who went a perfect 7-0 against NEC competitors and 17-5 overall. O’Toole, who claimed All-NEC second team accolades in 2023, was selected NEC Player of the Week on April 9. Starastsenka and doubles partner Kim Fenton (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) were voted to the All-NEC doubles first team after going 13-5 with all 13 victories coming at the #1 spot. After posting an 11-3 record in doubles play, graduate student Vitalina Golod (Kyiv, Ukraine/Ross School) and sophomore Flavia Rambaldi (Rome, Italy/Liceo Scientifico Primo Levi) were awarded second team accolades.
 
Saint Francis U has built a foundation for future success with an impressive freshman class. Along with Zuba’s first team singles nod,, classmate Reagan Mangan (Goshen, KY/North Oldham) was named to the second team. The Goshen, KY native played from the #2 spot most of the year going 10-6 in the flight and 16-9 overall. Mangan and fellow freshman Sara Jankovic (Itasca, IL/Lake Park) were also named All-Conference second team in doubles after winning eight matches in 2023-24.
  
The Red Flash trio of Zuba, Mangan and Jankovic, along with LIU’s Tsoukalas, collected All-Rookie squad honors. Stonehill’s Julie Holte (Oslo, Norway) and FDU’s Katsiaryna Kostsina (Minsk, Belarus) filled the remaining two spots. Holte will go down as the first Stonehill women’s tennis student-athlete to claim an individual postseason honor.
 
This marked the sixth year that All-NEC honors were awarded without flight designations.
 
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 43rd season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of nine institutions of higher learning located throughout five states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Boston (#9). Hartford/New Haven (#34) and Syracuse (#85). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 24 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 15 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Central Connecticut, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Merrimack, Sacred Heart, 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. 
 
2024 NEC Women's Tennis Award Winners                                                                                                                    
NEC Player of the Year
Katsiaryna Starastsenka    Sacred Heart              Sr    Mogilev, Belarus/Mogilev City Gymnasium

NEC Rookie of the Year

 
NEC Coach of the Year
Chad Davis                 LIU

2024 NEC Women's Tennis First Team All-Conference  

Singles
 
Name                       School                    Yr    Hometown/High School
Leo Boisseau               LIU                       Sr    Levallois, France/Passy Saint-Honoré (Texas A&M CC)
Ciara O’Toole              Sacred Heart              Gr    Dublin, Ireland/Our Lady’s School
Saki Oyama                 LIU                       Sr    Osaka, Japan/Nagaodani (North Texas)
Katsiaryna Starastsenka    Sacred Heart              Sr    Mogilev, Belarus/Mogilev City Gymnasium
Mia Tsoukalas              LIU                       Fr    Adelaide, South Australia, Australia/Immanuel College
Diana Zuba                 Saint Francis U           Fr    Marlboro, N/Marlboro

Doubles
 
Name                       School                    Yr    Hometown/High School
Leo Boisseau               LIU                       Sr    Levallois, France/Passy Saint-Honoré
Lucy Garrigues             LIU                       Gr    Valencia, Spain/Esclavas (Chattanooga)
 

Mia Tsoukalas              LIU                       Fr    Adelaide, South Australia, Australia/Immanuel College

Kim Fenton                 Sacred Heart              Sr    Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional
Katsiaryna Starastsenka    Sacred Heart              Sr    Mogilev, Belarus/Mogilev City Gymnasium
   
2024 NEC Women’s Tennis Second Team All-Conference              
 
Singles
 
Name                       School                    Yr    Hometown/High School
Lucy Garrigues             LIU                       Gr    Valencia, Spain/Esclavas (Chattanooga)
Namie Isago                FDU                       Jr    Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil/Colégio Saber
Alena Kubanova             FDU                       Gr    Kazan, Russia/Gymnasium No. 7
Anastasia Lim              FDU                       So    Kazan, Russia
Reagen Mangan              Saint Francis U           Fr    Goshen, KY/North Oldham
Valentina Silva            FDU                       So    Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Centro Educacional Espaço Integrado

Doubles
 
Name                       School                    Yr    Hometown/High School
Namie Isago                FDU                       Jr    Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil/Colégio Saber
Alena Kubanova             FDU                       Gr    Kazan, Russia/Gymnasium No. 7

Vitalina Golod             Sacred Heart              Gr    Kyiv, Ukraine/Ross School
Flavia Rambaldi            Sacred Heart              Sr    Rome, Italy/Liceo Scientficio Primo Levi

Sara Jankovic              Saint Francis U           Fr    Itasca, IL/Lake Park
Reagen Mangan              Saint Francis U           Fr    Goshen, KY/North Oldham
 
2024 NEC Women’s Tennis All-Rookie Team