DUDLEY, Mass. – The Nichols College men's tennis team will take on Colby-Sawyer College in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine on Friday at a time to be announced.

The Bison (19-4) are coming off a 5-3 win over Roger Williams to earn their fifth-consecutive Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship and fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament.

"We are very excited about our matchup with Colby-Sawyer," said Nichols head coach Paul Brower. "We had a tough match with them in the fall but I definitely think we are playing at a much higher level now."

Nichols is led by freshman standout Blake Norton (Stratford, Conn.) who plays the top flight for the Bison in both singles and doubles. Norton finished this season being named to the CCC First Team – Singles as well as a Second Team – Doubles selection along with partner Aidan Stuart (Orange, Conn.). His season was highlighted by a 6-2, 6-2 upset of senior Eric Laboissonniere (Cumberland, R.I.) – the CCC Player of the Year – in the CCC Championship.

Senior Josh Halpern (Secaucus, N.J.), along with junior James Smith (Monte Sereno, Calif.) and Jake Zapatka (Wethersfield, Conn.), were all named to the CCC Third Team – Singles.

The Chargers (15-5) are making a fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament after winning Sunday's North Atlantic Conference (NAC)/North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) crossover championship. The Chargers fell to Yeshiva, 5-3 in last year's NCAA Tournament.

The Chargers and Bison played in Dudley, Mass. earlier this season in September. Colby-Sawyer earned a 6-3 victory to record the team's first win over Nichols since 2009. The teams met in the NCAA Tournament in 2013, which was the Chargers' first appearance, and Nichols came away with the 5-0 win. The Bison hold a slim 13-12 edge in the series and have won five of the last six meetings.

Nichols has won its first round match in three of their four trips to the NCAA Tournament, having scored wins over Marywood (5-0) in 2012, Colby-Sawyer (5-0) in 2013, and Ramapo (5-3) last year. The only loss for the Bison in the first round came in 2014 to MIT (5-0).

"Every time we make it to the NCAA Tournament it is a different experience," said Brower. "We are excited to head up to Maine and compete against some of the best teams in the country."

The winner of Friday's match will play the regional host and fourth-ranked Polar Bears of Bowdoin (15-3) on Saturday.

The other Friday first round match is between Stevens (18-7) and Southern Maine (11-2). The winner will play MIT (15-4) on Saturday.