Top-Seeded Men’s Tennis Readies for CCC Championship Match Against Nichols

QUINCY, Mass.- The top-seeded Eastern Nazarene College men's tennis team is set to host its first-ever Commonwealth Coast Conference Finals match Sunday, May 7. The Lions and second-seeded Nichols will tussle for the title at the ENC Tennis Courts starting at 11:00 am.

BASICS:
Date/Time: 05/07/17 | 12:00 pm
Location: Quincy, Mass.

LIVE UPDATES:
For live updates from the match, follow ENC Athletics on Twitter (@ENCAthletics).

HOW THEY GOT HERE:
Eastern Nazarene and Nichols shared the Commonwealth Coast Conference regular-season crown and both enter the match touting a 17-3 overall record.

In the Commonwealth Coast Conference semifinals, the Lions edged fourth-seeded Roger Williams 5-4 while the Bison clipped third-seeded Gordon 5-4.

LEAGUE RECOGNIZES LIONS:
Eastern Nazarene swept the Commonwealth Coast Conference major awards this spring. Sophomore Alex Partyka (Moscow, Russia) was named the CCC Player of the Year and Henry Siercke (Hamburg, Germany) was tabbed the CCC Rookie of the Year. Andres Biondi (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) was selected as the CCC Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The Lions' 14th-year head coach Cristian Popa collected his third CCC Coach of the Year honor.

Eastern Nazarene also placed four student-athletes on the All-CCC teams this spring. Partyka and Siercke both garnered All-CCC singles first team accolades and combined to earn a spot on the All-CCC doubles first team. Rookie Santiago Camero (Valencia, Venezuela) earned All-CCC singles second team honors while senior Davis Steelman (Darlington, Md.) picked up All-CCC singles third team accolades.

ENC VS. NICHOLS – PART TWO:
In the regular-season meeting between the Lions and Bison on April 24, Eastern Nazarene topped Nichols 5-4 for the first time since 2007. The Lions posted a pair of doubles wins and notched three singles victories.

CCC TOURNAMENT HISTORY:
Eastern Nazarene has reached the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament nine times in program history, including each of the past seven seasons. The Lions will be making their first trip to the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship match while Nichols has advanced to the finals in the past six years and captured the title in each of the past five seasons.