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OFF TO MERCER COUNTY...NEC CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON HAS ARRIVED!

Spring championship season has arrived in the NEC and it all gets underway on Thursday when 21 teams and 174 players convene at the Mercer County Tennis Center in West Windsor, NJ for the 2013 NEC Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships.

This marks the 13th straight year the event will take place at the sprawling New Jersey venue, one of the premier facilities in the Northeast.

For the first time, the tournament will be contested over four days, beginning with feed-in play on Thursday leading into Friday’s quarterfinals.  The semifinals are slated for Saturday and the tourney will culminate on Championship Sunday.

Be sure to follow @NECtennis on Twitter for updates throughout the event.

NEC Men's Tournament Preview:

• Second-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson will attempt to defend its NEC title under first year head coach Jonathan Buchman.  The Knights have won 11 conference titles, the most in NEC history.

• Bryant secured the #1 seed in its first year of postseason eligibility.  Under the tutelage of Ron Gendron, the Bulldogs went a perfect 6-0 in NEC play over the course of the regular season, including wins over #2 FDU, #3 Quinnipiac and #4 Mount St. Mary’s.

• This marks the tenth straight year Quinnipiac has been seeded third or higher.

• Monmouth has won or shared nine conference championships, second most in NEC annals.

• Quinnipiac’s Mike Quitko has led the Bobcats to four conference championships (2004-06, 2010) and Sacred Heart’s Paul Gagliardi has two title wins (2009, 2011) under his belt.

• FDU and Mount St. Mary’s both posted 4-1 NEC regular season marks.

• Only five schools have ever won NEC men’s tennis championships: FDU (11), Monmouth (nine), Quinnipiac (four), UMBC (four) and Sacred Heart (two).

• The winner of the NEC Tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.  Play commences with first round action on May 16.

NEC Women's Tournament Preview:

• Top-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson is out to repeat as NEC women’s champion.  A year ago, the Knights won their first conference title since claiming the inaugural crown in 1987 and then repeating in 1988.

• The Knights, led by former assistant and now first year head coach Jonathan Buchman, posted a 4-0 NEC mark during the regular season.  FDU beat Quinnipiac, 4-3, in a tightly contested regular season match on March 30, that was reminiscent of their classic 2012 NEC final.

• Quinnipiac, the #2 seed, has won six conference titles since the 2004 season.  The Bobcats have never been seeded lower than #3 at this event.

• Mount St. Mary’s is the all-time leader with seven NEC women’s titles, won consecutively from 1989-95.

• Six schools have won NEC women’s tennis championships:  Mount St. Mary’s (seven), Quinnipiac (six), UMBC (five), FDU (three), LIU Brooklyn (two), CCSU (one) and Robert Morris (one).

• Quinnipiac head coach Mike Quitko has racked up six NEC titles (2004-08, 2011) while leading the Bobcats.  LIU Brooklyn won two league championships under Asi Phillips in 2009 and 2010. 

• LIU Brooklyn went 3-0 against NEC competition this season, while Bryant and Quinnipiac both finished with 4-1 records.  Bryant will be competing in its first NEC Tournament after completing a five-year NCAA reclassification.

• The winner of the NEC Tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.  Women’s first and second round play commences on campus sites on May 16.

500!

Talk about a legendary career.  Quinnipiac’s Mike Quitko, an eight-time NEC Coach of the Year, earned his 500th career victory on Saturday.  Now in his 22nd season, the tennis mastermind only trails Dave Fish of Harvard for most wins among active Division I coaches in the New England region.

“It’s about time,” Quitko said after reaching the milestone.  “Actually No. 500 is no different than No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3, all the way down the line until you get there. You’ve got to hit one ball at a time, get one point at a time, and win a match as a collective unit.  I’ve been blessed with terrific young players, who really deserve all the credit.”

Tennis HQ: For all the latest NEC men’s and women’s tennis news, visit www.northeastconference.org. You can also follow the league on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube (@NECsports) as well as the NEC Overtime! blog (necovertime.com).