Christopher Newport is the top choice in the 2026 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Women's Tennis Preseason Poll following a vote among the C2C head coaches.  The Captains totaled 16 points with four first-place votes.

UC Santa Cruz was second with 12 points and the remaining top vote, just ahead of Mary Washington in third (11).  Salisbury and C2C newcomer JWU Charlotte completed the poll.

The 2026 spring season begins tomorrow and concludes with the C2C Women's Tennis Championships May 1-3 hosted by Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Teams will be seeded based on the ITA rankings.

Below is a brief preview of each team entering the 2026 season:

Christopher Newport

CNU will start the year with a top-25 ranking for the fourth time in the 48-year history of the program as they check in at No. 24 in the ITA Preseason Poll. Last season, the Captains climbed to as high as 14th in the nation and finished the year with a 13-7 overall record. CNU captured the team's second straight conference championship and recorded the most wins under head coach David Weiner. This season, the Captains return five All-C2C stars including Kylie Schaefer, Kendal Chang, and Samantha Robertson.

UC Santa Cruz

The Banana Slugs return Chloe Wu, Emily Belezzuoli, Adeline Lai, and Brooklyn Walker and welcome new head coach Nyssa Peele.  The UCSC schedule features 16 NCAA Division III matches, including contests against No. 2 Chicago, No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, No. 11 Trinity (Texas), No. 26 Sewanee, No. 31 Redlands, and No. 34 Colorado College.

Mary Washington

UMW opens the spring ranked 39th in the ITA national poll and will look to move up the rankings with a tested group returning and a top-rate class of newcomers. Back in the fold are all-state junior Addison Felts and sophomore Natalie Kim, as well as sophomore Sophia Broomall, junior Jacey Copeland, and junior Evie Snyder. Top newcomers Isabella Rotaru, Natalie Howell, Naomi Feltman, Mady Holman, Sarah Sandoval Banuelos, and transfer Abiela Wang will challenge for match time.

Salisbury

Salisbury opens a new era in 2026 with the arrival of first-year head coach Tyler Linscott, who was hired following the retirement of Randy Halfpap after 26 years leading the program. Returning into the fold are two-time first-team All-C2C singles honoree Gibelle Beaujon and a two-time all-league doubles pair in Beaujon and Olivia Hall. The Sea Gulls also welcome junior transfer Cleo Solomon from St. Mary's (Md.); Solomon is the reigning United East Player of the Year after earning first-team All-United East laurels in singles and doubles in 2025.

JWU Charlotte

The Wildcat women are a youthful group, with just one player, Payton Abrams having more than one year of experience. JWU will be led by standout freshman Anna Katherine Medlin, who was a three-time conference player of the year in high school. Newcomers Covey Alexander, Kallie Moore, Paloma Nitcholas, and sophomore Danielle Brake, who missed all of 2024-25, also look to make an impact for first year head coach Corey Neal.