CCC Pre-season Coaches' Poll: Men's Tennis No. 8
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's tennis coaches pick Salve Regina University to finish eighth while Nichols College seeks its seventh-straight conference title in 2018. It will do so as the preseason favorite as the Bison earned the top spot in the 2018 CCC Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Second-year Salve Regina head coach Peter Torgrimson returns a more experienced squad after having no seniors in his first season with the Seahawks. Seniors Kevin Brocks (Albany, N.Y.) and Will Masse (Wyoming, R.I.) will serve as captains in their fourth season on the team.
Several Seahawks posted winning records during the fall campaign including freshman Will Chasse (Greenville, R.I.), junior D.J. Bisaillon (Watertown, Conn.), and sophomore Aaron White (Falmouth, Mass.) in singles, and the doubles pairs of Masse/White and Chasse with classmate Trevor Jones (South Hamilton, Mass.).
"The team and I are looking forward to the spring season with excitement and purpose. We hope to improve on last year's performances and have our sights set on a couple of goals in particular. We plan to continue to work hard and have fun in search of more wins no matter how big or small. It will be bitter sweet as we graduate seniors who have been key contributors, leaders, and motivators for the underclassmen. We plan to practice and play proud, and leave it all on the court for Spring 2018 as we move into a new chapter of Salve Regina men's tennis." – head coach Peter Torgrimson
The six-time defending CCC Champions earned 78 points in this year's voting, including six of the nine first place votes cast by CCC men's tennis head coaches.
Last season, Nichols finished the year with a 7-1 CCC (19-4 overall) record and claimed a share of the CCC Regular-Season Championship. It entered the CCC Championship as the No. 2 seed having lost the tiebreaker to Eastern Nazarene. However, the Bison were able to knock off the Lions, 5-3, to keep the championship streak going. In the NCAA Tournament, they defeated UMass Boston in the First Round to advance to the Second Round for the third straight year. They dropped the Second Round match with Bowdoin, 5-0.
Eastern Nazarene landed in the second spot in this year's poll registering 74 points and receiving the remaining three first place votes. The Lions had their best season in program history as they earned a share of the CCC Regular-Season Championship with a 7-1 CCC (17-4 overall) record. They also made their first-ever trip to the CCC Championship match where they would lose to Nichols.
The three, four, and five positions in this year's poll were each separated by a single point. CCC Semifinalist Roger Williams landed in the No. 3 spot with 55 points, followed immediately by Endicott, which was awarded 54 points. Gordon, the other 2017 CCC Tournament Semifinalist completed the top five with a 53 points.
Western New England (36 points) and Wentworth (27) landed in the sixth and seventh spots, respectively, while Curry (14) and Salve Regina (14) tied for eighth to round out the poll.
The spring portion of the men's tennis season starts on Friday, Feb. 23 as Gordon hosts Stonehill in non-conference action. The first conference matches are set to begin on Saturday, March 24. The top six teams in the 2018 regular-season conference standings will qualify for the CCC Tournament, which starts with the quarterfinals on Saturday, April 28 and concludes with the Conference Championship a week later on May 5. The CCC Tournament Champion will earn the conference's automatic qualifier in to the 2018 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship.