SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Nichols men's tennis team picked up 78 points and six first place votes to earn the top spot in the 2017 Commonwealth Coast Conference Preseason Poll. The Bison are in search of their sixth straight conference title.
The preseason poll voting was conducted by the league's nine men's tennis head coaches.
Three other teams received first place votes on this year's ballot. Endicott, a CCC semifinalist a year ago, ranked second in the poll with 64 points and one first place vote. The Gulls were followed closely by last year's CCC runner-up, Roger Williams, with 61 points and a first place vote. Eastern Nazarene received the final first place vote, ranking fourth on the table with 59 points. Gordon rounded out the top five with 53 points.
Western New England (34 points), Wentworth (25), Salve Regina (21), and Curry (10) closed out the poll in that order.
A season ago the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's tennis team missed out on qualifying for the CCC Tournament by one match and with five players returning from that squad, the Leopards should be in a position to make an appearance in the postseason.
Senior Matthew Smith (Pelham, N.H.), who earned All-CCC honors as a freshman, has played No. 1 and No. 2 singles during his career as well as No. 1 doubles and looks to remain towards the top of the lineup. Junior Jeff Tocco (Plymouth, Mass.), an All-CCC selection in 2015, had seven singles victories as a freshman to go along with three doubles wins. He and Smith should emerge as Wentworth's No. 1 doubles tandem. Senior Zach Peter (Preston, Conn.) has been a mainstay in the middle of the Wentworth lineup and last season had five doubles wins and three singles wins.
Wentworth opens its spring slate at Bridgewater State on March 15.
2017 CCC Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll
|
Team |
Points (First Place Votes) |
|
| 1. | Nichols | 78 (6) |
| 2. | Endicott | 64 (1) |
| 3. | Roger Williams | 61 (1) |
| 4. | Eastern Nazarene | 59 (1) |
| 5. | Gordon | 53 |
| 6. | Western New England | 34 |
| 7. | Wentworth | 25 |
| 8. | Salve Regina | 21 |
| 9. | Curry | 10 |
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