PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Plymouth State University women's tennis team was picked to finish seventh in the Little East Conference (LEC), as the league released its Preseason Coaches' Poll on Tuesday.
 
PSU earned 21 points to finish seventh in the poll, just behind Southern Maine (26). Rhode Island College claimed five first-place votes and 59 points to take the top spot, edging Bridgwater State, which earned two first-place votes and 57 points. UMass Boston was picked third with the other two first-place votes and 53 points.
 
UMass Dartmouth (45), WestConn (30) and Southern Maine (26) rounded out the top six, while Plymouth State (21), Salem State (20) and VTSU Castleton (13) completed the poll.
 
Head coach Kathy Peverly enters her fifth year atop the program. The Panthers went 3-8 last fall, including a 2-6 mark in LEC play to finish one spot shy of the LEC Tournament.
 
Seniors Chloe Ahern (Middleton, Mass.) and Sofia Orama (Marlborough, Conn.) and junior Lauryn Corrigan (Littleton, N.H.) all return from last year's lineup. Corrigan led the team with four singles wins and matched the team lead with five doubles wins, while Ahern and Orama held the No. 2 and No. 3 singles spots.
 
Plymouth State hosts UMaine Augusta in the season opener on Sept. 3 and welcomes Salem State for the conference opener on Sept. 12. The top six teams at the conclusion of the regular season qualify for the LEC Tournament, with the top two seeds earning byes into the semifinals.