Pitman, N.J. - After winning the first New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) men's tennis championship awarded in 21 years and earning a Pool B selection to the 2019 NCAA Tournament, The College of New Jersey has been selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2020 NJAC Men's Tennis Championship in a poll of the league's eight head coaches. The Lions will be seeking their 22nd NJAC title since 1959.

After originally sponsoring the sport from a period of 1959 to 1998, the NJAC eliminated men's tennis as a conference sport due to a lack of institutional sport sponsorship. Following a recent league policy change, the sport was reinstated in the NJAC in 2019.

After sponsoring the sport in 2019 with only four league teams, the 2020 NJAC men's tennis season will look dramatically different following the addition of four new affiliate member programs. The NJAC Presidents Council and the NJAC Board of Athletic Administrators agreed to add SUNY Oneonta, UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, and UW-Whitewater as the league's first affiliate members in the sport of men's tennis. 

The eight programs will compete in a divisional structure which will feature the four full-member NJAC institutions that sponsor the sport aligned in the East Division, and the four new affiliate member programs aligned in the West Division. The two divisional winners will compete in the first-ever NJAC Men's Tennis Championship Match which will take place on Saturday, May 2 at the home courts of the East Division Champion.          

TCNJ was the unanimous pick to win the East Division and received a league-high six-of-the-eight overall champion votes cast by the league coaches. The 2019 Lions finished the season with a 15-4 overall record while capturing the NJAC crown with a perfect 3-0 mark in conference play. Under the direction of 20th-year head coach Scott Dicheck, the Lions have posted a 199-90 overall record along with 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. The 2020 Lions return a trio of all-conference performers from their NJAC Championship Team, including sophomore Justin Wain, senior Thomas Wright, and the 2019 Co-Rookie of the Year in sophomore Matthew Michibata. Top newcomers for the 2020 Lions include freshmen Nick Matkiwsky, Akul Telluri, and Rahul Panoli.   

UW-Whitewater was picked to win the West Division and received two overall champion votes. Led by 18th-year head coach Frank Barnes, the Warhawks have notched a 329-153 overall record during his tenure. UWW qualified for the NCAA Tournament for 11 straight seasons from a period of 2007 to 2017, advancing to the Round of 16 in 2007, 2011, and 2016. In 2019, Whitewater posted a 16-8 overall record while returning to the NCAA Tournament as a Pool B selection, defeating Principia in the first round before falling to Kalamazoo in Round Two.  Top returners for UW-Whitewater include sophomore Alex Grey, sophomore Ryan Mitchell, and senior Zach Wood. The 2020 Warhawks will also be aided by a pair of freshmen newcomers in Danila Borovykh and Cole Lindwall.  

Ramapo  College, which finished as the 2019 NJAC runner-up en route to a 10-6 record overall, was selected to place second in the East Division. The 2019 Roadrunners advanced to the championship match of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) during the program's final season of membership in the league. Under the leadership of 10th-year head coach Raza Baig, the Roadrunners have produced a 101-42 overall record, including six GNAC Championships and four appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Ramapo returns one all-conference player from its 2019 NJAC runner-up squad in sophomore Cyrus Dastparvardeh. Other top Roadrunner returners include sophomore Alex Kogut and senior Kevin Ilinets. Ramapo will also add a top newcomer in freshman Kenny Elliott.        

The coaches' darkhorse selection, UW-Eau Claire was selected to finish second in the West Division. The 2020 Blugolds will be led by new first-year collegiate head coach John Janssen. A graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College who won Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) titles in each of his seasons as a Gustie player, Janssen inherits a UW-Eau Claire squad that has made four NCAA Tournament appearances in program history. The Blugolds, who finished 14-8 overall last year, feature top returners in senior Zach Janssen, sophomore Matt Christensen, and junior Grant Mauthe. Top UWE newcomers include a trio of freshmen in Hunter Roseth, John Foley and Demetri Bush.   

Rutgers University-Newark, which will be led by new first-year head coach Elliott Smego, was selected to place third in the East Division. The Scarlet Raiders, who wrapped up their final season of GNAC membership in 2019, finished 3-7 overall last year. Smego inherits a squad which returns the 2019 NJAC Co-Rookie of the Year in sophomore Sebastian Narath. Other top returners include junior Veer Kachhiapatel and senior Alan Yu. Top Scarlet Raider newcomers include a trio of freshmen in Mario Kaldas, Kareem Abdelwahab, and Hamza Akbar.

UW-La Crosse, led by the longest-tenured NJAC coach in Bill Hehli, was selected to place third in the West Division. Now in his 25th season at the helm of the Eagles, Hehli has guided UWL to an overall mark of 318-186, including six Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) titles during the period in which the WIAC sponsored the sport of men's tennis. After posting a 9-9 overall record in 2019, the Eagles top returners include junior Alex Alt, senior Riley Peterson, and senior Tony Moore. Top UWL newcomers include a trio of freshmen in Alex Moore, Grant Counts, and JT Dillon. 

Rutgers University-Camden, under the leadership of second-year head coach Matt Geiser, was selected to place fourth in the East Division. The Scarlet Raptors posted a 3-8 overall record in 2019, the program's final year as a GNAC member. Geiser's squad will feature a trio of junior top returners in Jose Vargas, Adney Cardoza, and Shariq Khan. Top Camden newcomers include freshen Jot Sandhu and Vlady Salazar.

SUNY Oneonta, led by ninth-year head coach Lonnie Mitchel, was selected to place fourth in the West Division. The Red Dragons previously won nine State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) titles before the conference stopped sponsoring men's tennis in 1988. Oneonta earned the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) title in 2009 and the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) championship in 2010, but the program has not been a member of a conference for the past eight seasons. Under Mitchel's leadership, the Red Dragons have produced an overall record of 76-73, including a mark of 9-8 in 2019. Top Oneonta returners include senior Marco Ammirati, sophomore Dalton Capobianco, and junior Riley Smith. The Red Dragons also will add top newcomers in freshmen Jacob Dornsife, August LePique, and Damien Bruce.      

The 41st season of NJAC men's tennis will get underway on Saturday, April 4 when Rutgers-Camden hosts Rutgers-Newark in the first East Division match of the year. The first West Division match in league history will take place just six days later on Friday, April 10 when UW-Eau Claire hosts UW-La Crosse.

The two divisional winners will participate in the first-ever NJAC Men's Tennis Championship Match which will be held at the home courts of the East Division winner on Saturday, May 2, 2020.

2020 NJAC Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches Poll
East Division
1. The College of New Jersey (6)
2. Ramapo
3. Rutgers-Newark
4. Rutgers-Camden

West Division
1. UW-Whitewater (2)
2. UW-Eau Claire (dark horse)
3. UW-La Crosse
4. SUNY Oneonta

(overall champion votes in parenthesis)