WATERVILLE, Me. (September 4, 2019) – The SUNY Delhi women's tennis team opens up their first season under head coach Mark Birman and the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) ranked fifth in the NAC preseason poll. The poll was voted on by the NAC head coaches, with the Broncos receiving 22 points. Delhi begins its season today hosting Hartwick at 4:00 p.m.
Coach Birman takes the controls for both the women's and men's tennis teams for the 2019-20 season after serving as the women's tennis assistant coach in the fall of 2018. He brings three women back with him this season in juniors Mackenzie Landman and Sarah Krzyston and senior Jessica Biller.
Defending champion Husson topped the preseason poll with 48 points and six first-place votes. Lesley followed in a close second with 43 points and one first-place vote. The Northern Vermont University schools of Johnson and Lyndon followed with 30 points and 24 points, respectively. Following Delhi was MCLA in sixth with 18 points and Thomas seventh with 13 points.
Coach Birman and the Broncos kick off their season with a four-match home stand. Leading off will be against local-foe Hartwick on Sept. 4, followed by jumping into NAC play hosting Husson on Sept. 7 and Thomas Sept. 8, and finally welcoming Sage on Sept. 10. Their first road contest will be at Utica on Sept. 11, then are back home for the weekend against NAC-foe Lesley on Sept. 14 and Kean on Sept. 15. The ladies then head to MCLA for some more NAC play on Sept. 17, after which they are home to face Marywood on Sept. 21 and then back on the road for a match with Bard on Sept. 22. They close their home season hosting Utica on Sept. 25, then finish up the NAC regular season with a Northern Vermont University weekend tour of Lyndon on Sept. 28 and Johnson on Sept. 29. The NAC Tournament is scheduled to be held on Sunday, Oct. 6, after which the Broncos will play one more match at Pratt on Oct. 12.
The NAC Tournament will be held at the Woburn Racquet Club in Woburn, Mass. The one-day competition will feature the four top teams in the conference. The second and third seeds will play at 9:00 a.m., followed by the one and four seeds squaring off at 12 noon. The winners will then compete for the conference title at 3:00 p.m. As part of the NAC's tennis partnership with the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC), the NAC champion will play the NEAC winner in the spring for the crossover championship on Sunday, May 3.
