Dan Sherman
Asst. SID
Juniata College
814-641-3513
HUNTINGDON, Pa., Coaches have voted and after receiving six of nine first place votes, the Juniata College men's tennis team has earned the top-spot in the 2015 Landmark Conference pre-season poll. Last season, the Eagles swept through conference opponents in the regular season. Juniata was undefeated, until an upset loss to Catholic in the championship match. The Cardinals received one vote and finished second overall. Moravian and Goucher complete the top-four. Click here for the complete poll results. This season, the Eagles will look to capture their first Landmark Conference championship.
Sophomore Dean Polisena (Adelaide, Australia / Saint Ingatius) leads a strong group of returning players. Polisena was just the second player in conference history to earn Rookie and Player of the Year honors in the same season. He was 16-3 in dual singles matches, including a 6-1 mark against conference rivals. Polisena is joined by Bryan Gregory (Glen Mills, PA / Garnet Valley), Mike Lifshitz (Worcester, MA / Worcester Academy), and Logan Moore (Chadds Ford, PA / Unionville). The three were a combined 44-9 in singles matches last season.
Head Coach Jason Cohen received Landmark Conference and USPTA Middle States Coach of the Year honors after leading the men to a program best 17 wins and number one seed in the conference tournament. Juniata also set a new program high in singles wins. On receiving the awards, Cohen stated that he, "would be nowhere without my teams and the hard work they put in daily. I am thankful for their belief in me and their desire to improve to become a championship caliber team." When asked about the men's ranking the coach replied, "Championships are not won in the pre-season polls, we know this. What this means is that every conference match we play we will have to expect our opponents to come out with everything they have because they want to prove that they should be where we are." Cohen is possitive the team will not be effected by the ranking and will continue their success from last season, "I am confident our guys will be able to match and exceed the intesnity of the other teams every time we are put to the test, because that is what champions do."
Juniata commences conference play on March 21st, taking on Catholic at home. The Landmark Semifinals will be held on April 28th, with the two remaining teams playing for the conference title on May 2nd. The Eagles will kick-off their season on Saturday, February 21 at Salisbury. The match is set to begin at 9 a.m.
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