Men’s Tennis Opens 2018 Slate with Thursday Tilt with Wentworth
The Suffolk men’s tennis lifts the lid on its 2018 campaign Thursday, March 22 as it entertains Wentworth at Buckingham, Browne & Nichols at 4:30 p.m. The Rams and Leopards will meet for the blue-and-gold’s season opener for the fourth time in the past five seasons and first time since 2016.
| THURSDAY, MARCH 22 | 4:30 PM | BUCKINGHAM, BROWNE & NICHOLS CAMBRIDGE, MASS. |
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BOSTON – The Suffolk men's tennis lifts the lid on its 2018 campaign Thursday, March 22 as it entertains Wentworth at Buckingham, Browne & Nichols at 4:30 p.m. The Rams and Leopards will meet for the blue-and-gold's season opener for the fourth time in the past five seasons and first time since 2016.
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RAMS REWIND
Suffolk enters the 2018 season coming off a down year in which the Rams went 2-8 overall. On the bright side of last year's squad, the blue-and-gold went 1-1 against GNAC North competition to earn a place in the conference semis. The Rams were swept by Johnson & Wales, 5-0, in the tournament, however, to wrap up their season.
Suffolk welcomes back seven racquets from a year ago including Omar Azzaoui, who 3-3 in the top half of the singles ladder, and Kevin Greenman, who put together a 4-4 ledger in the bottom half of the lineup. In doubles, Greenman paired up with Rami Esrawi for a team-best 5-1 mark with tandem returning for their sophomore and junior seasons, respectively.
RAMS RINGLEADER
Junior Chris Parnagian and sophomore Omar Azzaoui will team up and take on the leadership role together as co-captains in 2018.
AT THE HELM
Steve Counihan is back on the bench of the Suffolk men's tennis program as head coach after a season away. Joining the Rams coaching staff this season is Associate Head Coach Matthew Tiberii, who leads Suffolk's women's squad.
FIRST SERVE
Suffolk looks to get back on track in season openers after falling to UMass Boston 7-2 to raise the curtain on the 2017 campaign.
For the fourth time in five years and first since 2016, the Rams will meet Wentworth in the first match of the season.
PRESEASON PREDICTION
In a vote by the league's head coaches, the Suffolk men's tennis team has been predicted to take fourth in the GNAC North Division.
MORE READING: Men's Tennis Picked Fourth in North in GNAC Preseason Coaches' Poll
LEOPARDS LOWDOWN
Wentworth has three matches under its belt this season. The Leopards split two matches in the fall both by 5-4 decisions with a loss at Regis and a victory at Salve Regina to head into the Spring slate 1-1. Wentworth opened the 2018 portion of its schedule March 20 with a 6-1 setback at Rhode Island College to prep for Thursday's tilt with the Rams.
Tyler Hall (0-1) and Jeff Tocco (0-1) have each seen action as Leopards ace this season. Jarrett North and Seng Ly have each been successful in singles play as the pair each owns 2-0 records. Ly has one win on courts two and three, respectively, while North picked up victories in the fourth and fifth slots.
In doubles play, the partnership of Hall and Alex Mularski has played all two matches at No. 1 and bring in a 1-2 overall doubles record. Ly is an ingredient to Wentworth's most successful doubles pairs as he is undefeated in with teammates Tocco (1-0) and North (1-0).
INSIDE THE SERIES
The blue-and-gold is 8-0 when serving off against the Leopards over the past eight seasons according to the Rams record books, which date through the 2009 slate.
UP NEXT
Suffolk takes the weekend off to ready for a midweek match against Curry Wednesday, March 28, which is set for a 3:30 p.m. start at BB&N.