PHILADELPHIA UNANIMOUS CHOICE TO WIN INAUGURAL CACC MEN’S TENNIS TITLE
NEW HAVEN, CT (March 25, 2009) - Philadelphia University is the unanimous selection to win the inaugural Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) regular-season men's tennis championship according to preseason balloting released today. The CACC is sponsoring men's tennis for the first time and the conference will be composed of six teams this season. The CACC will hold a four-team conference tournament on April 21 and 23, followed by an individual tournament on April 24 and 25 at Chestnut Hill College.
Philadelphia collected all six first-place votes to top the poll with 36 points. Philadelphia reached its first-ever NCAA Regional Tournament last season and set a school record with 15 victories, ending the year at 15-9. The Rams lost their top two singles players from last year but return sophomores Tom McAvoy and Seppi Hutter after gaining valuable experience last year as freshmen. Four freshmen have joined the club and one of them, Adrian Torroella-Cruz, will be counted upon to move into one of the top positions for singles and doubles. The Rams went 9-0 last season against teams that are currently members of the CACC.
Dr. Julian Snow begins his 19th season at the helm of the men's tennis program at USP, which was picked second in the poll with 29 points. Gone from this year's squad is #1 singles player Tyler Weisel who exhausted his eligibility. However, last year's #2 and #3 singles players, Ricardo Martins and Paul Caceres, will move into the top two slots. Martins was 11-3 in singles last season and teamed with Weisel to produce an 11-2 doubles mark. Caceres also won 11 singles matches and was 12-2 in doubles with two different partners.
Chestnut Hill was selected third in the poll with 23 points after doubling its win total from 2007 to 2008, finishing 8-12 last season. Sophomore Carson Richter led the way with a 12-8 individual mark in the top singles flight. In addition, he went 13-7 at number one doubles. Also returning to help lead the Griffins are senior Garrett Senior and junior Reese Brown.
Caldwell was chosen fourth in the poll with 17 points after going 5-9 last season. In 2009, the Cougars return three players who saw significant action last season in senior Thane McKenzie, sophomore Josh Getka and sophomore Andrew Loughnane. The Cougars went 2-0 against Chestnut Hill last season and also upended Bloomfield and Post. The Deacons and Eagles finished fifth and sixth in the balloting with 14 and seven points, respectively.
