Seahawks pegged as spoilers in CCC race
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Nichols men's tennis team, winners of the past seven Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament Championships, looks poised to continue the streak in 2019 as the Bison were picked first in the CCC Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Nichols earned all eight first place votes for 64 points in the poll that was conducted by the eight CCC men's tennis coaches last week.
The defending tournament champions are coming off a perfect conference season after going 8-0 in league (20-4 overall) play last year. As the No. 1 seed in the CCC Tournament, they earned a bye directly into the semifinal round where they swept No. 4 seed Endicott, 5-0. The Bison earned the league's NCAA automatic qualifier in the championship match knocking off No. 2 seed Eastern Nazarene, 5-3.
In the national tournament, Nichols earned its fourth straight first round win, defeating Baruch, 5-0. However, the Bison still struggled to get past the second round as the they were swept by Amherst to end their tournament run.
Endicott and Roger Williams, which were both CCC semifinalists in 2018, tied for the second spot in the poll with 51 points apiece. Gordon and Western New England, which were the two other teams to qualify for the CCC Tournament a year ago ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. The Fighting Scots earned 39 points, while the Golden Bears collected 35.
Wentworth (21 points), Salve Regina (14), and Curry (13), finished out the rest of the poll.
Third-year head coach Peter Torgrimson returns a young squad led by senior captain DJ Bisaillon (Watertown, Conn.). The Seahawks completed three matches in the fall without junior Trevor Jones (South Hamilton, Mass.) who studied abroad in Europe and continued to develop his skills in Real Tennis (see article links below).
Jones rejoins sophomore Will Chasse (Smithfield, R.I.) as a potent doubles force for the Seahawks; the pair posted a team-best five doubles wins in 2017-18. Junior Aaron White (Falmouth, Mass.) enters his third season with both singles and doubles experience. He paired with Bisaillon in the final fall match last October for an 8-4 win at first doubles against Johnson & Wales' top duo.
Senior Kevin Hunt (Higganum, Conn.) helped welcome three newcomers to the Seahawk lineup – freshmen Drew Marzano (Clinton, Conn.), Matthew Newfield (Clinton, Conn.), and Michael Salazar (Carmel, N.Y.).
2018-19 CCC Men's Tennis Pre-season Coaches' Poll
1. Nichols 64 (8)
T2. Endicott 51
T2. Roger Williams 51
4. Gordon 39
5. Western New England 35
6. Wentworth 21
7. Salve Regina 14
8. Curry 13
The first spring tennis match of the season for a CCC team is on Feb. 24 as Endicott matches up with Emerson. The CCC opens conference play this year on Saturday, March 30. The top six teams in the conference standings will qualify for the 2019 CCC Men's Tennis Championship, which begins with the quarterfinal round on Saturday, April 27. The semifinals will take place on Wednesday, May 1, followed by the championship on Saturday, May 4. The winner of the championship match will be named the CCC Tournament Champion will earn the conference's automatic qualifier in to the 2019 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship.