NEC Release
 
SOMERSET, N.J. – Receiving five of the possible 10 first-place votes, the Fairleigh Dickinson men's tennis team checked in atop the Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, announced Monday by the conference office.
 
Right behind the Knights in second place in the preseason standings is Bryant with three first-place votes, followed by Quinnipiac in third with two of the top votes.
 
FDU won a record 11th NEC crown a season ago thanks to an undefeated record in conference play in the regular season and an even better postseason where the team did not drop a match in the NEC Tournament.
 
First-year Head Coach Jonathan Buchman, an assistant under Ira Miller last season, will welcome back an experienced bunch including 2012 Rookie and Player of the Year Arvis Berzins (Adazi, Latvia/Riga Language School). A six-time NEC Rookie of the Week honoree as a freshman, Berzins was a First Team All-NEC selection for No. 1 singles to go with Second Team All-NEC accolades for No. 1 doubles.
 
Berzins' doubles partner, senior Ibrahim Shams (Cairo, Egypt/Manor House), joined him on the first team for singles at No. 2. Picking up 17 singles victories as a junior, Shams looks to hold down the No. 2 slot again this season.
 
The veteran team will also lean heavily on a trio of seniors, Peter Skvarka (Banska Bystrica, Slovakia/Gymnazium J.G. Tajovskeho), Mark Hemy (Suffolk, England/Ipswich School) and Yuri Gricheno (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Amorim). Doubles partners all of last season, Skvarka and Hemy earned First Team All-NEC recognition at No. 3 doubles. In singles, Skvarka was also an All-Conference first teamer at No. 5 singles, while Gricheno earned the First Team nod for No. 3 singles. 
  
The Knights begin the spring season against NEC opponent Bryant on Friday, Feb. 15, in East Hartford, Conn. at 2:30 p.m.

2013 NEC Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches Poll
1.    Fairleigh Dickinson (5)
2.    Bryant (3)
3.    Quinnipiac (2)
4.    Monmouth
5.    Sacred Heart
6.    Mount St. Mary's
7.    Saint Francis U
8.    Robert Morris 
9.    St. Francis Brooklyn
10.  Wagner
    
First place votes in parentheses