CCC Pre-Season Poll: Seahawks picked fifth in women's tennis

BIDDEFORD, Maine – Endicott earned the top spot in the 2022-23 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll, as it starts the season in search of its third straight conference title.

The Gulls earned 60 points, including five of a possible eight first place votes, in the voting conducted by the league's eight head coaches.

The defending champions emerged out of a crowded field at the top of the conference last season. They compiled a 6-1 CCC (14-8 overall) record, tying them for the top spot in the league standings. The Gulls were granted the No. 1 seed as a result of the league's tiebreaking procedures and advanced through the CCC Tournament with 5-0 sweeps of No. 4 seed and No. 3 seed Roger Williams in the semifinals and championship matches, respectively. In the NCAA Tournament in the spring, the CCC Tournament Champions swept Sarah Lawrence in the first round, before falling to MIT in the second round.

Nichols will be looking to return to the conference title match after missing it for the first time since 2016 last season. The Bison, which tied for the Regular-Season Championship in 2021-22, placed second in the preseason poll with 58 points and the remaining three first place votes.

2021-22 CCC Tournament runner-up and co-Regular-Season Champion, Roger Williams, landed in the No. 3 spot in the polling with 50 points.

Gordon and Salve Regina rounded out the top-five with 35 and 32 points, respectively.

Closing out the poll were Western New England (22 points), Curry (16), and Suffolk (15) in that order.

Second-year head coach Bruce Levine welcomes back seven players with previous experience and five newcomers to the Seahawk tennis program.

Fourth-year Seahawk Casey Farrell (Cumberland, R.I.) has been named captain and is joined in the senior class by returning All-CCC performer, Sailor Nordstrom (New Bedford, Mass.). The Seahawks made steady improvements throughout 2021-22 which included qualifying as the fifth seed in the conference postseason and having a more competitive second meeting with the fourth-seeded Scots of Gordon.

Cayla Dolan (Cheshire, Conn.), Sloane Nelson (Island Heights, N.J.), and Sadie Reig (Carlisle, Pa.) are among the freshman looking to make an immediate impact, while sophomores Maeve Newton (Chicago, Ill.), and Natalia Vega (Speonk, N.Y.) aim to see some first-time action.

Salve Regina opens the 2022-23 campaign at home on Saturday, Sept. 3, when the Anchorwomen of Rhode Island College visit for a noon match.