Nichols College has been tabbed as the favorite to win the 2012 men’s tennis championship for the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), it was announced today by Commissioner Gregg M. Kaye.
Voting for the preseason poll was conducted among the league’s head men’s tennis coaches.
Nichols (16-4, 11-0) received seven of the nine first-place votes in the 2012 CCC preseason poll. Defending CCC champion Roger Williams University was selected by the coaches as the runner-up in the conference and garnered the remaining two first-place votes. Endicott College was slotted in the third spot, while Western New England was picked fourth. Salve Regina University was selected to finish fifth by the coaches.
The Bison return a trio of talented players who are determined to revisit the CCC Championship after losing to eventual champion Roger Williams in the 2011 conference finals. Nichols will look to senior David Drucker (33-10 career singles) to bring his talents to the court. Drucker is a two-time CCC First Team Singles recipient and a two-time All-CCC Doubles honoree. Alongside Drucker is Steve Carella, a player who can battle from any spot in the lineup and currently holds the Nichols’ career doubles wins record. Carella has been named to the All-CCC Singles team three times (2009, 2010 Second Team, 2011 Honorable Mention). As a rookie, sophomore Isiah Prosper posted a perfect 10-0 singles record in CCC action, which earned him a slot on the All-CCC Second Team for doubles and an Honorable Mention in singles.
The 2011 CCC Champions, Roger Williams (18-7, 10-1) enter the 2012 season hungry to win another title this spring. The Hawks defeated top seed Nichols in a 5-1 battle earning its second title in three years. Four talented All-Conference players return to the courts this spring. Senior Jeff DeNunzio compiled records of 9-2 in singles and 15-6 in doubles, and was slotted on the All-CCC First Team Singles and Second Team Doubles for his performance. Kevin Erikson (13-6 singles, 12-0 doubles) received All-CCC Second Team recognition for singles and doubles, while Spencer Withington earned All-CCC Second Team Doubles (11-5 singles, 12-5 doubles). Additional standout players to look for are Jason Pacino (12-7 singles, 13-5 doubles), who was named an All-CCC Singles Honorable Mention, and sophomore Taylor Webster, who posted a 12-4 singles record in 2011 as a freshman.
Endicott (11-8, 8-3) looks to earn its sixth consecutive CCC tournament berth in 2012. Last season, the team battled its way into the Gulls’ fourth conference semifinal appearance, only to fall 5-2 to top-seeded Nichols. Endicott will be led by senior Porter Williams (8-4 singles overall, 4-2 singles), juniors Olivier Joggi (12-4 singles overall, 8-1 singles) and Jake Cohen (7-4 singles overall, 4-3 singles), and sophomore Evan Ross (11-5 singles overall, 8-2 singles). At the #3 singles spot last year, Joggi posted a record of 11-4, while compiling a #2 doubles record of 5-5 between Ross and Cohen. His singles play earned him All-CCC Honorable Mention recognition. Williams and Cohen also collected a winning record at the #3 doubles slot, going 8-4 overall and 4-2 in CCC contests.
Western New England (14-5, 9-2) enjoyed its best season ever in 2011, which included a #3 seed in the CCC tournament. The Golden Bears were hit hard with the loss of three All-CCC performers, but this spring the team welcomes back the tandem of senior Shawn Fitzpatrick and junior Chris Holzinger (7-7 and 5-2 at #2 doubles), who were 2011 All-Conference recipients. Senior JohnPaul Ouellette earned singles records of 11-6 overall 7-4 in conference play. Holzinger also posted singles records of 9-6 overall and 7-3 in CCC contests last season.
Salve Regina (5-12, 5-6) returns three players who are experienced at the #1 spots in singles and doubles competition. Having played key roles in the 2010 CCC Championship, Seahawks’ seniors Brian Castrichini (5-10 singles overall, 5-6 singles) and Zachary Rosenfeld (6-8 singles overall, 5-5 singles), and junior Aaron Isch (10-6 singles overall, 10-1 singles) return to the court looking to repeat the team success of the 2010 season.
Eastern Nazarene College (10-9, 6-5) welcomes back junior Austin Steelman, and sophomores Brandon Lum and Tim Lutz. Steelman finished 14-4 in singles and posted an impressive 10-0 record in his final 10 matches, which earned him First Team All-CCC honors in singles play last year. Steelman teamed up with doubles partner Lum and claimed a 10-9 record, and received All-CCC Honorable Mention for their efforts. Lutz and Eric Johnson were also paired up in doubles and went 9-7 at the #2 slot.
Gordon College (10-10, 6-5) has plans to continue its climb up the CCC ladder. The Fighting Scots welcome back senior Gary Gaudio (9-10 singles overall, 6-5 singles) and his brother sophomore Kenny Gaudio (7-13 singles overall, 4-7 singles) as the team will contend for another bid to the conference tournament.
Wentworth Institute of Technology (6-8, 5-6) features the return of the 2011 CCC Player of the Year, Juan Rodriguez. The junior recorded an unblemished record of 14-0 in singles play, and won six matches in doubles competition with senior teammate Nate Gove, which earned them All-CCC Honorable Mention recognition. Sophomore Thuan Nguyen emerged as a solid player in 2011, as he won four matches at #2 singles.
Curry College (3-13, 2-9) is aiming to earn a bid to the conference tournament after missing it for the first time since 2004, snapping a six-year run. Senior Thomas Bagley led the team with six wins at #6 singles and tallied six more wins when paired up at #3 doubles. Junior Tyler Collins posted four wins of his own at #4 singles and tallied another four at #1 doubles. The duo looks to lift the Colonels to a successful 2012 season.
2012 CCC PRESEASON MEN’S TENNIS POLL
Teams received nine points for every first-place vote received, eight points for second-place votes, seven points for third-place votes, down to one point for a last place vote. First-place votes are shown in parentheses.
TEAM POINTS (1st Place votes)
Nichols 79 (7)
Roger Williams 74 (2)
Western New England 60
Endicott 50
Salve Regina 40
Eastern Nazarene 35
Gordon 32
Wentworth 25
Curry 10