FAIRFIELD, Conn. — After not playing most of last spring and this fall, the Sacred Heart University women's tennis program start its quest for a title at the Northeast Conference Championships, slated for April 16-18 at the Mercer County Tennis Center in West Windsor, N.J.

The Pioneers are seeded third with a 4-2 conference record and will face number six Wagner in the quarterfinals on Friday afternoon. The semifinals will be held on Saturday afternoon and the Championships are scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday. 

The team is led by first-year Katsiaryna Starastsenka who is 7-3 overall in singles and 5-1 in league action, where she is the NEC top seed at number three singles.

Starastsenka isn't the only star on the team. The newcomer is joined by sophomore Ciara O'Toole who is top of the charts at number one singles with her 5-1 conference record. First-year Flavia Rambaldi has an overall record of 6-3 and 6-0 in NEC play, which leads the NEC in all singles action and first at number four in solo play. 

The team had a difficult year with five matches cancelled this spring due to the pandemic. 

"Many challenges have bent us, but we did not break and that is a testament to the strength of the people in the program," head coach William Boe-Wiegaard stated. "We are excited for the NEC Championships and despite being first-round favorites against Wagner we will have our work cut out for us as both of these teams have highly skillful and competitive people on them and they will absolutely fight for every ball," head coach Boe-Wiegaard concluded.

The Pioneers and Seahawks were scheduled to play on April 5, but the matched was cancelled because of a positive COVID case.

In its last trip to the NEC Tournament the Pioneers defeated St. Francis, 4-1, in the quarterfinals before losing 4-0 to eventual champion LIU.