Seahawks picked eighth in CCC men's tennis
NEWPORT, R.I. - Defending champion Nichols College has been unanimously voted as the favorite to win the 2014 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's tennis championship after receiving all nine first place votes for a total of 81 points in the CCC preseason coaches' poll. Roger Williams University, the 2013 runner-up, was selected second after earning a total of 72 points. Endicott College claimed third with 59 points, while Eastern Nazarene College placed fourth after receiving 56 points to round out the top billing.
Salve Regina (1-13; 1-7 CCC in 2012-13) earned 16 points for eighth in the poll.
Voting for the preseason poll was conducted among the league's head men's tennis coaches.
| 2014 Commonwealth Coast Conference Men's Tennis Pre-season Coaches' Poll | ||
| RK | TEAM | PTS |
| 1 | Nichols | 81 (9) |
| 2 | Roger Williams | 72 |
| 3 | Endicott | 59 |
| 4 | Eastern Nazarene | 56 |
| 5 | Western New Eng. | 45 |
| 6 | Gordon | 34 |
| 7 | Wentworth | 28 |
| 8 | Salve Regina | 16 |
| 9 | Curry | 14 |
The top two teams in the 2014 preseason poll faced off for the CCC title a season ago. The Bison were victorious over the Hawks, as NC claimed its second consecutive CCC Championship with a 5-1 win. With the win, the Bison tied the program record for wins in a season (18), while earning the conference's automatic bid into the 2013 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship.
Nichols ended up breaking the single-season wins record with a 5-0 first-round win over Colby-Sawyer. The Bison unfortunately fell to nationally-ranked Williams 5-1, in the second round, but ended the 2013 season with a 2-2 record in NCAA tournament play over the last two years.
Head coach Cory Tusler is in his first year with Salve Regina, but the longtime tennis instructor has over 200 victories as a collegiate coach - at all three NCAA levels. His Bentley College program won several conference titles in the 1990s and made two NCAA appearances.
Seahawk senior Colin Gunning (Norwell, Mass.) returns with the most experience on the 2013-14 squad. Tusler welcomes newcomers from the men's ice hockey program - juniors Matthew Carroll (Hackensack, N.J.) and Michael Naso (Londonderry, N.H.) - as well as men's cross country - sophomore Ben Campbell (Carolina, R.I.).
Returners Monaf Awwa (Old Lyme, Conn.) and Khoa Nguyen (Haverhill, Mass.) combined to play in over 50 matches last season.
The Seahawks play their first match on Monday, March 17, hosting former CCC member Regis College on the Newport campus courts (Leroy Avenue; 3:30 p.m.).