Providence, R.I.—Head Coach Adam Spring's women's tennis team has been picked to finish first in the 2026 Little East Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
The Anchorwomen are coming off a 2025 season that saw RIC capture the Little East Regular Season and Tournament Championships and compete in the 2026 NCAA Div. III Women's Tennis Championship.
 
Rhode Island College finished the 2025 season with a 16-1 overall record and an 8-0 (first place) finish in the Little East. The Little East Tournament Championship for the Anchorwomen marked the 12^th title in program history and the sixth for the club in the last nine years. By posting a perfect 8-0 record in conference play last fall, Rhode Island College claimed its 14^th Little East Regular Season Championship and its eighth in the past 11 years.
 
RIC made the program's sixth appearance in the NCAA Div. III Championship. The Anchorwomen fell, 4-0, vs. Stevens in first round action of the NCAA Championship at Middlebury on May 8.
 
The Anchorwomen return seven student-athletes from last season's championship roster and welcome one newcomer to the squad.
 
Junior Arianna DeThomas (Providence, R.I.) will lead the team in singles. DeThomas was named the 2026 United States Tennis Association's (USTA) Jill Craybas Award recipient for her performance during the 2025 season. The annual award goes to the top female college player who graduated from a Rhode Island secondary school and played for their school team. They do not necessarily need to play at an in-state college. She was named First Team All-Little East in singles and Second Team All-Little East in doubles. De Thomas finished the season with a 13-3 record at No. 1 singles and a 15-2 mark at No. 2 doubles.
 
Junior Haylie Peacock (West Gardiner, Maine) was named to the LEC's Doubles Team of the Year, while also earning First Team All-Little East honors in both singles and doubles. She was 15-0 at No. 2 singles and 14-1 at No. 1 doubles on the season.
 
In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will open the 2026-27 season at Hartford on Saturday, Sept. 5 (1 p.m.).