SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Two-time defending champion Endicott College has been designated as the favorite to win the 2013 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) women's tennis championship after receiving six first place votes and a total of 78 points in the CCC preseason poll. Nichols College, the 2012 runner-up, earned second place with 69 points and one first place vote. Roger Williams University claimed third with 66 points and one first place vote, while Salve Regina University was selected fourth after receiving 52 points and the last first place vote to round out the top billing. Wentworth was picked to finish eighth.

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

The preseason favorite in the 2013 poll competed in the postseason at the NCAA Tournament last spring. After the Gulls captured their second consecutive CCC title, a 5-1 upset over the top-seeded Bison, their postseason continued at Bowdoin College where they competed in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Gulls claimed a 5-0 victory over Bridgewater State to advance into the second round of the national tournament for the first time in program history. Endicott saw its tournament run end in the second round after a 5-0 loss to #5 Bowdoin.

2013 CCC Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll

This weekend marks the start of the fall season for six of the nine CCC women's tennis teams. The six-team conference tournament will begin Tuesday, October 8, 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 Thursday, October 10. The two semifinal victors will battle for the CCC championship on Saturday, October 12.

Click HERE to view the 2013 CCC Women's Tennis composite schedule; to view the complete release including the full poll standings and previews please click HERE.

(Release Courtesy of the Commonwealth Coast Conference)