Lena Tsonis caps career at UMass Dartmouth with LEC title, NCAA berth

DARTMOUTH — New Bedford’s Lena Tsonis has a knack for going out on top. She capped off her high school softball career at Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech by winning the Div. 3 state championship in 2022.

She’s ending her college career as a two-time conference champion. As a senior at UMass Dartmouth, Tsonis helped the Corsairs capture the softball program’s second Little East Conference championship on May 10. “At Voke I ended up winning the state finals as a senior and now as a senior at UMass Dartmouth, winning my conference finals; it’s like a full circle moment,” said the 22-year-old Tsonis.

“The last years in my high school and college careers, I made it to the top and it meant everything to get that ring. ” Tsonis and the Corsairs aren’t done yet. UMass Dartmouth has qualified for the NCAA Division III tournament for the fourth time in program history and the second time in the past four years.

“It’s great that me and my other senior classmates got to start with a win (in the LEC title game) our freshmen year and also end it with a win and make it back to the (NCAA) tournament,” said Tsonis, who walked onto UMD’s softball team as a freshman nursing student. “In my freshman year, we ended up losing the first two games (in NCAA's), but it was honestly a great experience to see that level of play and what it takes to be the best in the country. ” Led by third-year head coach Rachael Powers, the Corsairs (30-11) will take on Stockton University at 1:30 p.