Diamond returns for his senior season after earning All-NE10 honors at No. 6 singles last spring. (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix) |
Skyhawks, 3-0 after the fall, open spring season February 9 against Clark
NE10 Releases Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll
EASTON, Mass. (January 30, 2020) – The Stonehill College men's tennis team has been picked fifth in the Northeast-10 Conference preseason coaches' poll by its eight head coaches, the league announced today.
Stonehill received 26 points, five behind Franklin Pierce University (31 points) for fourth and six in front of Adelphi University (20) in sixth place in the NE10 preseason poll. Reigning NE10 regular season and tournament champions Southern New Hampshire University, winners of four-straight NE10 Tournament titles, are picked to capture the NE10 championship once again with seven of eight first place votes and 49 points. Bentley University (39 points) is picked second and received the remaining first place vote, while Le Moyne College (37) is third in the poll.
Stonehill enters the spring season with a 3-0 record overall following the fall portion of its schedule. Stonehill Athletic Hall of Famer Peter Miller, '75 (356-268, .570) returns nine letterwinners, including all six who saw regular time in the Skyhawks singles lineup in 2018-19 as the team posted a 12-10 record overall, including 4-5 in the NE10 to finish sixth in the Conference standings to make their second-straight trip to the NE10 Tournament and 19th in program history overall.
Newman (left) and White have led the top of the lineup for the Skyhawks through their first two and a half seasons |
Stonehill is off to a 3-0 start to its 2019-20 season after dual match wins over Emerson College (7-0), Endicott College (7-2) and University of District of Columbia (7-0) during the fall season. Freshman Christian Duffy made an immediate impact for the Skyhawks, earning a pair of NE10 Rookie of the Week awards already as he finished the fall with a combined 8-4 record in singles and doubles play. He and senior Samuel Miller won the B-flight doubles title at the Stonehill Doubles Invitational to open the season and finished the fall with a 4-1 record as Duffy went 5-2 overall in doubles play.
Senior Aaron Diamond, an All-NE10 performer at No. 6 singles as a junior, carries a 38-28 career combined record in singles and doubles play into his final collegiate semester. He has posted a 31-22 singles record over his Stonehill career, posting a 15-8 record last season, including 5-3 in the NE10.
Miller and Manu Ravichandrakumar will also play valuable roles and leadership this spring. Miller, an All-NE10 third team performer at No. 1 doubles along with junior Trent Newman last season, has seen time at each of the top three spots in the Stonehill lineup since transferring in from Saint Francis (Pa.) University before his junior season. He has posted a 30-21 combined record in singles and doubles play with the Skyhawks, including a combined 5-2 in the fall. Ravichandrakumar, an NE10 All-Rookie Team selection as a freshman, continues to work his way back from injury during his junior season, having recorded 40 career wins.
Duffy had strong fall in his first collegiate season for the Skyhawks |
Newman and junior classmate Russell White have been strong contributors at the top of the lineup over their careers at Stonehill. Newman is a combined 51-35 over his career in singles and doubles play, including a 31-16 doubles mark, having earned NE10 All-Rookie Team honors as a freshman to go with his All-NE10 third team performance at doubles last spring. Newman and White combined to reach the Round of 16 of the USTA/ITA East Regional doubles championship in the fall and White owns a career combined record of 59-33 and also earned NE10 All-Rookie Team honors as a freshman.
Juniors Aleksander Lazowski and Joey Conrod have both contributed in doubles play over their careers. Conrod, an ITA Scholar-Athlete is 17-11 over his career in doubles play, while Lazowski has posted a 15-12 career doubles mark.
Sophomores Juan Camilo Riano Rojas and Vincent Huynh both made immediate impacts during their first season at Stonehill. Huynh, who transferred in from West Liberty University, is a combined 27-21 over his first season and a half with the Skyhawks, including a 19-8 mark in singles play. Riano Rojas, an NE10 All-Rookie Team selection as a freshman last spring, is a combined 30-21 over his first season and a half at the collegiate level. He has posted a 15-11 singles record at Stonehill, including 6-3 in the NE10 last spring.
Rounding out the Stonehill roster this spring are freshmen Ben Simmons, who split six doubles matches in the fall with Riano Rojas, and Torran Herbert.
Stonehill resumes its 2019-20 season with its spring opener on Sunday, February 9, when it hosts Clark University inside the Sally Blair Ames Sports Complex, at 1 p.m. The Skyhawks also host Wheaton (Mass.) College on Sunday, February 23, at 1 p.m., before heading to Long Island for two key East Region matchups with Queens (N.Y.) College on February 29 and Saint Thomas Aquinas College on March 1. Following its annual spring break trip to Central Florida, Stonehill will open its NE10 schedule at Le Moyne on Friday, March 20, before its NE10 home opener on Sunday, March 22, against Assumption College at 1 p.m.
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