PITMAN, NJ --- A quickly formed rivalry between longtime power TCNJ and high-powered men's tennis newcomer NJCU has not gone unnoticed, as the two programs split four first-place votes in the 2022 NJAC Men's Tennis East Division preseason poll. The poll is voted on by the East Division's four head coaches.
Ramapo was named the conference's dark horse team to watch, and Rutgers-Camden rounds out the poll.
NJCU is in its second season since the program was reinstated last year. The Gothic Knights defeated TCNJ 5-4 in just their second official match, in a thriller that came down to a three-set tiebreaker. Head Coach Nick Margiasso returns the 2021 East Division Player of the Year (Theo Bourghelle) and Rookie of the Year (Nico Teynie), both of whom earned all-conference honors at both singles and doubles. Bourghelle and Teynie are off to a solid start this year, as the pair teamed up at the ITA Regionals in the fall to advance to the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament. First Team doubles player Jordi Julia is also back after going 3-3 in singles last year and 5-2 in doubles play. Also returning are Alejandro Ley and Alex Platonov. Ley won two consolation singles matches at ITA regionals in the fall, and Platonov went 2-0 in singles and 2-1 in doubles after joining the team last season. Junior transfer Ryan Weiss joins from Rowan College of South Jersey and picked up an ITA singles win. Olaf de Lange, a freshman from The Netherlands, also picked up a singles win at ITAs to kickstart his rookie year.
TCNJ returns an upperclassmen-heavy lineup of eight juniors and seniors, including two-time all-conference selections Justin Wain and Matthew Michibata as well as Nikola Kilibarda. Wain, Michibata, and Kilibarda each advanced to the third round of the ITA Regional singles tournament in the fall. Head Coach Scott Dicheck also welcomes back solid players in Akul Telluri and Nick Matkiwsky. Telluri and Matkiwsky teamed up in the fall season to advance to the ITA quarterfinal round in the doubles tournament. Rookie Dorian Makarski looks to make an immediate contribution. The Garfield High School product picked up a win at the ITA Regional to gain early experience in his rookie season.
Ramapo, this year's dark horse pick, returns a number of experienced players. Head Coach Raza Baig credits the team's dedication, work ethic, and depth as the Roadrunners look to make some waves in conference action. Kenny Elliott, Matthew Doran, and Bobby Ciarletta return. Doran and Ciarletta teamed up at doubles in the fall and picked up a win. They each also split a pair of singles matches in the fall season. Elliott, who also went 1-1 in singles in the fall, teamed up with rookie Siddharth Byreddy at doubles with the pair going 2-0.
Rutgers-Camden head coach Lloyd Pearson looks to develop a very young squad, with the top three returners only going into their first full season on the collegiate court. Charles Dalisay played at the top spot in both singles and doubles as a rookie in last year's COVID-shortened season. Andy Yuen returns at second singles and teamed up with Dalisay at first doubles. Gavin Fernan is also back after playing at fourth singles in the very short year. Rookie Sean Boen, a two-sport athlete who started nine matches in goal and posted two shutouts for the Scarlet Raptor soccer team in the fall, also looks to make an immediate contribution on the tennis court this spring.
NJAC men's tennis is split into two divisions – East and West. The four New Jersey-based programs (NJCU, Ramapo, Rutgers-Camden, TCNJ) comprise the East Division. The West Division includes SUNY Oneonta, Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Wisconsin-La Crosse, and Wisconsin-Whitewater. Teams within both divisions will play each other in a single round-robin format. The winners of each division will face each other on May 7 on the campus of the West Division winner for the NJAC championship and the conference's first automatic qualification to the NCAA Tournament.
NJAC Men's Tennis East Division
Preseason Poll (first place votes in parentheses)
1. (tie) NJCU (2) / TCNJ (2)
3. Ramapo (dark horse)
4. Rutgers-Camden