TEANECK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson men's tennis team begins the fall portion of its 2014 season on Friday at the Stony Brook Invitational in Stony Brook, N.Y. The two-day tournament will conclude on Saturday, Sept. 6, with play beginning at 9 a.m. each day.

The Knights return all six members from its team from a year ago, which saw FDU finish second in the Northeast Conference. Senior Arvis Berzins (Adazi, Latvia/Riga Language School), the first three-time NEC Player of the Year in men's tennis history, leads the squad in his final season. Last season, Berzins was also named a Third Team Capital One Academic All-America and collected his second consecutive Walter Marusyn Male Athlete of the Year honor after being selected as the top male athlete at FDU.

Also returning is NEC Rookie of the Year Jacob Whalley ( Wirral, England/Calday Grange Grammar School) (First Team All-NEC #2 singles), sophomore Diogo Garnel (Lisbon, Portugal/Carcavelos Tenis) (First Team All-NEC #6 singles, Second Team All-NEC #3 doubles), sophomore Gonzalo Quintana (Guayaquil, Ecuador/Colegio Particular Pert) (Second Team All-NEC #3 singles, First Team All NEC #1 doubles), senior Julien Philippe (Paris, France/Saint Honoré d’Eylau) (Second Team All-NEC #5 singles, Second Team All-NEC #3 doubles) and sophomore Arnaud Valentin (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield ).

The Knights welcome four newcomers to the team in 2014-15. Freshmen William Bourne (Stamford, England/Stamford), Adam Chen and Ryan Foster (Bloomfield, Conn. / Classical Magnet ) and junior transfer Kiran Mani (Brewster, N.Y./Laurel Springs) will add even more depth to an already talented roster.

After the Stony Brook Invitational, FDU will make its home debut on Saturday, Sept. 13 when it welcomes St. Francis Brooklyn to the FDU Tennis Center for a very early NEC dual match. First serve is scheduled for 12 p.m.