Posted: Mar 09, 2016

Men's Tennis selected fifth in NAC preseason poll

Colby-Sawyer was unanimously selected as the preseason favorite in the 2016 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) East Division men's tennis coaches poll. The four-time NAC East Champions garnered all seven first-place votes for a total of 49 points, while Castleton claimed second with a total of 40 points and 2015 runner-up Thomas was tabbed third after earning 34 points.

Green Mountain took fourth with 27 points, while MCLA (22 points), Lyndon (15 points) and Johnson State (9 points) placed fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.

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

The top four teams in the 2016 poll competed in the NAC East four-team Championship Tournament a season ago. The Chargers claimed the No. 1 seed after finishing the regular season with a perfect 6-0 NAC East record, while the Spartans finished 5-1 (No. 2), the Terriers were 4-2 (No. 3), and the Eagles ended with a 3-3 conference mark (No. 4).

In the NAC East Semifinals, Colby-Sawyer claimed a 9-0 win over Green Mountain, while Thomas earned a 7-2 upset victory over Castleton. Then in the championship match, the Chargers defeated the Terriers 5-0 to win its fourth-straight NAC East Division championship and advanced to play in the NAC/NEAC Crossover Championship.

Colby-Sawyer hoisted its third-consecutive NAC Title with a 7-2 victory over Penn State Abington and earned the program's third-straight bid to the NCAA Tournament.

After falling in the program's first two NCAA appearances by a score of 5-0, the Chargers nearly came away with the five points needed to clinch the match in 2015, but dropped a very close and competitive match to Yeshiva University, 5-3, in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.

2016 NAC Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll

	Team	Points (First Place Votes)
1.	Colby-Sawyer	49 (7)
2.	Castleton	40
3.	Thomas	34
4.	Green Mountain	27
5.	MCLA	22
6.	Lyndon	15
7.	Johnson State	9

Throughout the next three weeks all seven NAC East men's tennis teams will kick off their spring seasons and their quest for the 2016 conference title. The top four teams in the regular-season NAC East standings will qualify for the East Division Tournament, which is scheduled for Saturday, April 30, at Castleton. The Crossover Championship against the NAC West champion, from the NEAC, is scheduled for Sunday, May 8.

Click HERE to view the 2016 NAC Men's Tennis composite schedule.
Click HERE to view the 2016 NAC Men's Tennis conference only schedule.

2016 NAC Men's Tennis Previews

**For more information on each team, click the school name to be directed to the men's tennis section of each school's website.

1. Colby-Sawyer (12-11, 6-0 NAC East) will be under the guidance of seventh-year head coach Barry Schoonmaker, as the Chargers search for a fifth-straight NAC East Championship and their fourth NAC Crossover Championship. Despite losing three All-NAC honorees, the Chargers return All-NAC first team selection junior Cass McCann (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) and All-NAC second teamer sophomore Andrew Peloquin (Greenville, R.I.; pictured right). Colby-Sawyer added just two newcomers, but those two players have already seen action at the second and third flights in three matches this past fall. The team played three tough matches earlier this season and will continue this spring. After picking up wins over Endicott and four-time reigning Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) champion Nichols, the Chargers' lone loss of the fall came to Division II Southern New Hampshire University. The upcoming schedule, which begins on March 9, is slated to include matches against three 2015 NCAA Tournament participants, in addition to a pair of Division II programs and one Division I team.
2. Castleton (8-6, 5-1 NAC East) head coach Bruce Moreton enters his 16th season at the helm of the Spartan squad. Castleton reached the NAC East Semifinals last season, but fell to Thomas, 7-2. The 2015 NAC East Rookie of the Year, Seth Marcil(Brattleboro, Vt.; pictured right), returns after compiling a 9-4 singles record, including a 4-2 mark in the conference. Also returning after missing the 2015 season due to injury is junior Kevin Rossett (Crans-Montana, Switzerland), who as a freshman went 8-5 in singles and was named to the All-NAC Second Team in doubles. Returners Ryan Mulder (Ottawa, Ont.), Andrew Overton (Woodbury, Conn.) and Tyler Wilcox (Queensbury, N.Y.) along with some newcomers will give the team more depth.
3. Thomas (10-7, 4-2 NAC East), led by seventh-year head coach Jeff Fowler, will look to return to the NAC East Tournament after taking runner-up honors in 2015. Top returners include seniors Tyler Small (Surry, Maine; pictured right), Joseph Greco (Greene, Maine) and Caleb Mora (Surry, Maine) and sophomore Zachary Disch (Waterville, Maine). Small earned first-team All-NAC East Division honors in both singles and doubles last year. The Terriers will look to build off last season's success as a handful of newcomers will compliment an experienced lineup. Thomas will take on Rhode Island College and Southern Maine as two of the team's top non-conference opponents.
4. Green Mountain (7-5, 3-3 NAC East) and reigning NAC Coach of the Year, Ted Panasci, who enters his sixth year, look to make this upcoming season the best one so far. Senior Connor Braden (Lafayette, Ind.; pictured right) will be looked to on the court as the driving force for the Eagles. Braden was honored as the NAC East Player of the Year last season, while also being named to the NAC East Singles and Doubles First Team for the third-straight season. Along with Braden, senior Grey McCampbell (Maryville, Tenn.) will also be looked to as a leader after a season of growth in 2015. The Eagles made the NAC East Tournament for the first time in program history last season and hope to continue to make noise in the conference this year.
5. MCLA (4-7, 2-4 NAC East) is led by third-year head coach Trevor Grimshaw. The Trailblazers return their top two players from a season ago in Aaron Goldsmith (Mattapan, Mass.; pictured right) and Rob Wabshinak (Brewster, N.Y.). Both were All-NAC selections in 2015, with Goldsmith being a first team selection and Wabshinak was honored on the second team. MCLA will entertain an 11 match slate which will begin on March 24 with a non-conference matchup against Green Mountain.
6. Lyndon (1-10, 1-5 NAC East) head coach Laura Laramee enters her fourth season leading the Hornets. The team will look to two returners, senior Trevor Updike (Newburyport, Mass.; pictured right) and junior Michael Sigsbury (Pownal, Vt.), to lead the 2016 squad. The Hornets will look to secure key conference victories to reach their goal of making the NAC East Tournament this season.
7. Johnson State (0-11, 0-6 NAC East) will be led by head coach Charlie Yerrick, who enters his fourth year with the Badgers. SeniorAlex Pakatar (Troy, N.Y.; pictured right), who returns after providing power at the top of the Badgers' lineup last season, will look to utilize his power strokes to help improve the Badgers' record from 2015. Johnson will play several conference teams more than once and will look to take a win against Norwich early in the season.