Monmouth Men, Quinnipiac Women Picked as 2015 MAAC Tennis Preseason Favorites
MAAC Sports
EDISON, N.J. – The Monmouth University Hawks have been named the preseason favorite to win the 2015 MAAC Men’s Tennis Championship, while Quinnipiac University was tabbed as the preseason favorite on the women’s side.
Monmouth received a total of 61 points in the poll, earning five of eight coaches’ first place votes. In the 2014 Men’s Tennis Championship, Monmouth was the No. 2 seed and ultimately fell to the top-seeded Marist College Red Foxes. Although the Hawks lost in the 2014 MAAC title match, they still had a stellar season finishing with a 16-8 record. Monmouth returns 11 letter winners to this year’s team, including all four All-MAAC singles players and Victor Pugliese, the MAAC Player of the Year, along with three all-league doubles squads.
Marist came in second in the MAAC Men’s Tennis Preseason Poll with 55 points. Coming in third is Quinnipiac University with 46 points, followed by Niagara University with 43 points to earn fourth place. Fairfield University finished in fifth place with 35 points, while Saint Peter’s University comes in at sixth with 23 points. Siena College takes seventh place with 16 points and Rider University rounds out the poll with 9 points.
On the women’s side, the defending champion, Quinnipiac University, was picked as preseason favorite according to a vote of the league’s nine head coaches. Quinnipiac was unanimously selected, earning a total of 81 points.
Last year the Bobcats completed a perfect season in MAAC regular season play. Entering the MAAC Championship, Quinnipiac was the No. 1 seed and went on to take down No. 2 seed, Fairfield University, 4-1 in the title match. Quinnipiac lost in the first round of the 2014 NCAA Women’s Tennis Tournament to 11th seeded Stanford University. With the departure of just one senior in 2014, the 2015 Quinnipiac Bobcats return with a veteran roster and look to repeat as MAAC champions.
Coming in second for the women’s teams is Fairfield University with 67 points. Niagara University comes in third with 62 points, while Marist College sits at fourth place with 58 points. Siena College finished in fifth place with 47 points. Both Manhattan College and Saint Peter’s University tied for sixth place, receiving 29 points each. Monmouth University comes in eighth place with 21 points and Rider University completes the poll with 11 points.
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Men’s Preseason Coaches’ Poll
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1.
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Monmouth
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61
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2.
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Marist
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55
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3.
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Quinnipiac
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46
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4.
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Niagara
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43
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5.
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Fairfield
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35
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6.
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Saint Peter’s
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23
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7.
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Siena
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16
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8.
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Rider
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9
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Women’s Preseason Coaches’ Poll
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1.
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Quinnipiac
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81
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2.
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Fairfield
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67
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3.
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Niagara
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62
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4.
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Marist
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58
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5.
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Siena
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47
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T6.
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Manhattan
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29
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T6.
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Saint Peter’s
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29
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8.
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Monmouth
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21
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9.
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Rider
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11
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