Western New England Picked Fifth in CCC Preseason Coaches’ Poll
Golden Bears open 2019 campaign at Norwich on Friday, March 1
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 20, 2019) – The Western New England University men's tennis team has been picked to finish fifth in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was released by the league office on Wednesday.
Nichols was selected as the unanimous preseason favorite, as the Bison received all eight first place votes and finished with 64 points.
Endicott and Roger Williams tied for second place in the poll with 51 points each, while Gordon (39) and Western New England (35) rounded out the top five.
The final three spots went to Wentworth (21), Salve Regina (14) and Curry (13).
Western New England finished above .500 last season with an 8-7 record that included a 3-5 mark in CCC play.
The Golden Bears bring back all three of their All-CCC performers from 2017-18 in senior Justin Kohut (South Windsor, Conn.) and juniors David Kalmer (Slingerlands, N.Y.) and Luke Surawski (Wethersfield, Conn.).
Kalmer enjoyed a breakout sophomore campaign last year, going 12-2 overall and 7-1 in singles action at the top singles flight. Kalmer also teamed up with Kohut to form one of the top doubles duos in the CCC, as they posted a 4-4 conference record and a 9-5 mark overall. Surawski earned All-CCC third team singles honors after a solid season at the No. 2 spot.
Western New England's 2019 season begins on the road at Norwich on Friday, March 1. The Golden Bears travel to Florida for several matches in mid-March, before opening their CCC and home slates against Nichols on Tuesday, April 2.
