CCC Bracket
DUDLEY, Mass. – For the second time in as many seasons, the second-seeded Hawks of Roger Williams (16-2) will travel to Dudley to battle the No. 1-seeded Nichols men's tennis team (11-9) in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship match taking place on Friday, April 28 at 4:00 p.m.
The match will serve as the second between both teams this season, with the Bison earning a 7-2 home victory in early April, giving Roger Williams its only loss in conference and division play. In last year's finals, Nichols dropped No. 1 doubles before sweeping the next five matches to earn a 5-1 victory and the 12th trip to the NCAA Tournament in program history.
Nichols, under the direction of first-year head coach
Ron Gendron, earned a 5-2 victory over No. 4 Endicott in the CCC Semifinals match on Wednesday, completing a comeback effort after the team found itself in a 2-1 deficit after doubles. The Bison rallied for four-consecutive singles victories to cruise to the needed five points. The duo of
Santiago Perez and
Caio Dieckmann earned points at No. 3 doubles before
Yannick De Vet (No. 4),
Ludwig Schlatzer (No. 6),
Frederik Bertrams (No. 3), and Dieckmann (No. 5) all earned wins, in that order, to give Nichols the chance to compete for its 13th CCC crown.
Bertrams and
Leon Zeis (No. 1) and Schlatzer and De Vet (No. 2) will look to bounce back after falling in doubles action in the semifinals.
Nichols' ace,
Trevor Schwarzmann, will once again assume the top court in a battle with the Hawks' Jon Trevethan, who enters with an 11-4 record on the season.
Roger Williams comes into the match having only dropped two decisions all season. In the CCC postseason, they have downed No. 7 Suffolk and No. 3 Gordon to make it to the finals.
This will be the 37th meeting between both teams, dating back to 1995, with Nichols holding a 19-17 edge and a current three-match winning streak.
The winner will be crowned champion and will earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.