PROVIDENCE, R.I. - For the fourth consecutive season, Rhode Island College and UMass Boston will battle it out in the Little East Conference Women’s Tennis Championship Tournament Final following their semifinal victories Thursday. The top-seeded Anchorwomen swept fourth-seeded UMass Dartmouth, while the third-seeded Beacons upset second-seeded Bridgewater State.
 
RIC will host the championship match Saturday at 1:30 p.m. The contest will air live on FloCollege.
 
The No. 1 Seed has prevailed in each of the four LEC tournament final meetings between the two programs. RIC won the first-ever LEC final meeting in 2019, while UMass Boston has prevailed each of the past three seasons.
 
No. 1 Rhode Island College 4, No. 4 UMass Dartmouth 0
 
Senior Erica Botelho (Greenville, R.I.) clinched a 4-0 shutout as No. 1-seeded Rhode Island College blanked No. 4-seeded UMass Dartmouth in semifinal action of the 2025 Little East Women's Tennis Championship at the RIC Tennis Center on Thursday afternoon.
 
THE BASICS
Rhode Island College (14-0)
UMass Dartmouth (9-6)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• RIC defeated UMass Boston, 5-2, in the two clubs' regular season meeting on Oct. 18.
• The Anchorwomen took No. 1 and No. 2 doubles with back-to-back, 6-0, shutouts to earn the match's first point.
• Sophomore Haylie Peacock (West Gardiner, Maine) pitched a shutout (6-0, 6-0) at No. 2 singles, while classmate Emilia Houwers (Whitewater, Wis.) lost just one game (6-1, 6-0) at fourth singles.
• Botelho clinched the win with a straight set (6-1, 6-1) win at third singles. 

 
No. 3 UMass Boston 4, No. 3 Bridgewater State 3
 
The Beacons appeared well on their way to winning the match after opening a 3-1 lead, only to see Bridgewater State rally to level the match score by winning two singles matches, sending it down to No. 6 singles. That's where senior Maya Rubenstein (Pittsburgh, Pa.) edged junior Samantha Bettencourt (Tiverton, R.I.), 6-0, 4-6, 7-5, to send the Beacons back to the title round.

UMass Boston gained the doubles point by winning at No. 2 and No. 3 to take an early 1-0 lead. Sophomore Tatiana Malone (South Dennis, Mass.) and freshman Althea Bradley (North Reading, Mass.) won over BSU sophomore Emma Gibney (New Bedford, Mass.) and sophomore Sarah Pothier (Rochester, Mass.), 6-2, at No. 2 while Rubenstein and freshman Karina Khalsa (South Yarmouth, Mass.) defeated Bettencourt and junior Fiona Clancy (Middleboro, Mass.), 6-2, at No. 3.

Junior Sandra Watson (West Palm Beach, Fla.) gave UMass Boston a point at No. 2 singles when BSU sophomore Aislyn Kelliher (Plymouth, Mass.) was forced to retire due to injury with the first set even, 3-3. The Beacons took a 3-1 lead when junior Zainab Patel (Ahmedabad, India) won at No. 1 singles over Gibney, 6-0, 6-2.

Pothier pulled BSU within 2-1, with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Bradley at No. 4 singles before the Bears rallied for wins at No. 3 and No. 5 singles to even the match. Sophomore Morgan Smith (Taunton, Mass.) defeated Malone at No. 3 singles, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 while sophomore Ava Alves (Taunton, Mass.) was a 6-2, 6-3 winner at No. 5 singles over senior Shreya Saravana Rakshana (Bengaluru, India).