CCC Bracket
DUDLEY, Mass. – After securing the program's seventh unblemished season in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play since 2011, the No. 1 seeded Nichols men's tennis team (11-9, 8-0 CCC) is set to press play on the postseason in a semifinal matchup with No. 4 Endicott (9-10, 5-3 CCC) on Wednesday, April 25 at 3:00 p.m. at the Robinson Tennis Courts as the Bison look to nab their 13th title.
The Bison, under the direction of first-year head coach
Ron Gendron, were able to produce an undefeated season in CCC play, picking up 9-0 decisions against Wentworth, Suffolk, Curry, and Salve Regina and 7-2 triumphs over Gordon, Roger Williams, Endicott, and Western New England to finish 8-0. The non-conference slate proved to be a worthwhile one as Nichols faced opponents across the NCAA's three divisions.
The schedule was loaded with four Division I matches, including a Spring Break trip to the Mid-Atlantic as the team took on Villanova and Mount St. Mary's (MD). The squad also faced off against three Division II opponents in Southern New Hampshire, Stonehill, and Bentley in the fall. In Division III play, the Bison faced off against two of the top 30 teams in the country at the time of competition, falling to No. 30 MIT in late February before dropping a match at No. 21 Amherst a month later.
Nichols ace at singles is
Trevor Schwarzmann, who has amassed a 10-10 record, making 17 of his 20 appearances at No. 1. The Dartmouth, Mass. native was named CCC Player of the Week once as he led the team to a 2-1 (2-0 CCC) week with a straight-sets victory at Endicott on Tuesday, April 11, as he downed Nick Brennan 6-0, 6-2 before he toppled Salve Regina's Sam Middleton by a score of 6-1, 6-2 in the Saturday, April 15 matchup.
Frederik Bertrams is the only other Bison to garner the same award, as the freshman has produced a 6-3 record in singles with a 7-4 No. 1 doubles record with classmate and partner
Leon Zeis. Zeis, who has posted a 6-8 No. 2 singles record to this point, has been named the Rookie of the Week on one occasion.
The singles lineup is rounded out by
Yannick De Vet,
Caio Dieckmann, and
Ludwig Schlatzer, while
Santiago Perez will assume a spot on the third doubles pairing.
Endicott enters the match after downing No. 5 Wentworth by a score of 5-0 in Saturday's quarterfinals match in Beverly to advance to 9-10 overall. The team posted a 5-3 CCC record in the spring to land fourth in the postseason seeding, dropping contests to the top three seeds in the tournament in Nichols (7-2), Roger Williams (7-2). and Gordon (6-3).
The duo of Conrad Kadel and Brennan Nick will lead the charge at No. 1 doubles while Andrew Muttiah will assume the first singles court as the Gulls pursue their first trip to the CCC title match in program history.
Nichols is 17-3 in the all-time series, winning the previous 17 contests dating back to April 8, 2009.
The winner of the match will face off in the CCC Championship on Saturday against the winner of other CCC semifinal between Roger Williams and Gordon at a time to be announced.
