Men's Tennis Picked to Finish Seventh in Preseason Poll

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Three-time defending champion Nichols College has been voted as the favorite to win the 2015 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's tennis championship after receiving eight first place votes for a total of 80 points in the CCC preseason coaches' poll. Roger Williams University, the 2014 runner-up, was selected second after earning a total of 69 points. Endicott College claimed third and received one first place vote with 64 points, while Eastern Nazarene College placed fourth after receiving 53 points to round out the top billing. After a sixth-place finish last season Wentworth was selected to finish seventh, garnering 31 points.

Voting for the preseason poll was conducted among the league's head men's tennis coaches.

The top two teams in the 2015 preseason poll faced off for the CCC title a season ago. The Bison were victorious over the Hawks, as NC claimed its third consecutive CCC Championship with a 5-1 victory. With the win, Nichols achieved a 20-win plateau, the first time in program history, while earning the conference's automatic bid into the 2014 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship.

The Bison fell 5-0 to regionally ranked MIT in the First Round of the NCAA tournament finishing their season with an overall record of 21-2, 8-0 in the CCC.

A year after making its second consecutive appearance in the conference tournament, second-year head coach Tony Moschetto returns a veteran lineup led by sophomore Matthew Smith, who was an All-CCC selection a season ago after posting six wins in singles play and five in doubles play. Classmate Nate Schwartz contributed with five singles wins and six doubles wins last season. Junior James Drum recorded four doubles wins as a sophomore and senior Dylan Melnik will provide veteran leadership and depth.

All nine CCC men's tennis teams will start their quest for the 2015 conference title within the next two weeks. The six-team conference tournament will begin Saturday, April 25, with quarterfinal contests featuring the No. 3-6 seeds. The top two seeds in the regular-season standings will receive byes and host the semifinal matchups on Wednesday, April 29. The two semifinal victors will battle for the CCC championship on Saturday, May 2.

2015 CCC Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll