Tennis snags first place vote in NAC preseason poll, season starts 9/7
Courtesy of North Atlantic Conference office
Five-time defending champion Colby-Sawyer College was selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2017 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Women's Tennis Championship. The Chargers received seven of the eight first-place votes in the coaches' poll for a total of 63 points.
Husson University took second with 52 points, while Johnson State College claimed third with 43 points and Castleton University was selected fourth after earning 40 points. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts was tabbed fifth with 34 points after garnering the remaining first-place vote.
Rounding out the poll were Thomas College in sixth (31 points), Lyndon State College in seventh (15 points), and Green Mountain College in eighth (10 points).
Voting for the preseason poll was conducted among the league's head women's tennis coaches.
2017 NAC Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll
|
|
Team |
Points (First Place Votes) |
|
1. |
Colby-Sawyer |
63 (7) |
|
2. |
Husson |
52 |
|
3. |
Johnson |
43 |
|
4. |
Castleton |
40 |
|
5. |
MCLA |
34 (1) |
|
6. |
Thomas |
31 |
|
7. |
Lyndon |
15 |
|
8. |
Green Mountain |
10 |
The top four teams in the 2017 preseason poll competed for the NEAC East title a season ago. In the 2016 semifinals, No. 1 Colby-Sawyer defeated No. 4 Castleton 9-0, while No. 3 Husson earned a 6-3 upset victory over No. 2 Johnson. The Chargers then posted a 5-0 win over the Eagles to earn the East Division title and to move on to the NEAC/NAC Crossover Championship.
Colby-Sawyer went on to capture its fifth-straight crossover championship after defeating Penn St. Abington, 9-0, to receive the NEAC's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. The Chargers then recorded their second-consecutive NCAA Women's Tennis Tournament first round victory by defeating Bridgewater State 6-0. Unfortunately Colby-Sawyer's season ended in the second round at the hands of eventual quarterfinalists Bowdoin, as the Chargers fell 5-0.
Throughout the next two weeks all eight NAC women's tennis teams will kick off their fall seasons and their quest for the 2017 NAC Title**. The top four teams in the regular-season conference standings will qualify for the NAC Championship Tournament, which is scheduled for Saturday, October 7, at Colby-Sawyer. The semifinal round will begin in the morning, with the winners meeting in the final round an hour after the opening matches are complete.
Click HERE to view the 2017 NAC Women's Tennis composite schedule.