NEW HAVEN, Conn. (February 8, 2019) -- Defending champion Concordia College was chosen first in the 2019 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced on Friday by Commissioner Dan Mara. The Clippers earned 25 points and all five first-place votes to top the five-ranked teams. Voting for the poll was conducted by the league's five head coaches in the sport.

Concordia returned to varsity competition last season following a year-long hiatus of the program in 2016-17, and quickly went back to the top of the CACC mountain as the Clippers defeated Chestnut Hill College in the league final to hoist the conference crown. Head Coach Neil Tarangioli returns several letterwinners from last season's squad, which also won the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament.

Chestnut Hill, which won the 2017 CACC title, was ranked second in the 2019 preseason poll as the Griffins earned 18 points in the voting. Jefferson was third with 13 points, while Post University (4th) and University of the Sciences (5th) rounded out the poll with 12 and seven points, respectively.

The 2019 regular season will be a buildup to the CACC Championship, which will be staged April 23 and 27. The top-three teams in the standings following the regular season will qualify for the post-season tournament, as the No. 2 & No. 3 seeds will play in the first round on Tuesday the 23rd, with the winner advancing to face the top-seeded team in the final on Saturday the 27th, at Concordia College in Bronxville, N.Y.

2019 CACC MEN'S TENNIS PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Concordia College 25 (5)
2. Chestnut Hill College 18
3. Jefferson 13
4. Post University 12
5. USciences 7

() - First-Place Votes

ABOUT THE CACC
The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 14 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Bloomfield College, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Concordia (N.Y.) College, Dominican (N.Y.) College, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Jefferson (Philadelphia University + Thomas Jefferson University), Nyack College, Post University of Waterbury, University of the Sciences, and Wilmington University.