West Babylon, N.Y. – After ending a decade-long drought without an East Coast Conference Championship in 2021, the University of the District of Columbia women's tennis team may have a shorter wait for their next title according to the conference's preseason poll released on Friday afternoon.
The Firebirds paced the vote of the league's coaches in overwhelming fashion, earning five of six first place votes to top the poll. UDC returns six of seven players off last year's championship squad that finished with a 15-3 record. Among the returnees are three ECC All-Conference First Team picks; Sofia Bellucco, Mariona Franco, and Simoné Pärn.
St. Thomas Aquinas was the poll's runner-up with one first-place vote and 28 points. The Spartans come off the best season in program history in which they finished 19-3 and made their first-ever NCAA Championship appearance.
Queens comes in at No. 3 in the poll, finishing one point behind St. Thomas Aquinas. The Knights have a long history of success, with streaks of 10 straight trips to the final of the ECC Championship and 20 straight appearances in the NCAA Championship.
The Knights will once again be led by ECC Preseason Player of the Year, Maja Makal (Bialystok, Poland). Makal earns the preseason honor for the second straight season after repeating as the ECC Player of the Year last season. Makal posted a near-unblemished record in ECC play in 2021, finishing 3-1 in singles and 5-0 in doubles, all at the No. 1 position.
Daemen edged out Molloy for fourth place in the poll. Daemen has advanced to the ECC Championship in each of the last two seasons, while Molloy looks for their first trip since 2019. D'Youville rounds out the poll in the No. 6 spot.
2022 ECC Women's Tennis Preseason Poll
| School | Pts. | Last Year's Record |
| 1. Dist. Columbia (5) | 35 | 15-3 (5-0 ECC) |
| 2. St. Thomas Aquinas (1) | 28 | 19-3 (4-1 ECC) |
| 3. Queens | 27 | 11-8 (3-2 ECC) |
| 4. Daemen | 16 | 7-10 (2-3 ECC) |
| 5. Molloy | 13 | 1-7 (1-4 ECC) |
| 6. D'Youville | 7 | 3-8 (0-5 ECC) |
( ) - first place votes
Preseason Player of the Year: Maja Makal, Sr., Queens
