University of the District of Columbia Men’s Tennis Picked Second in 2012 East Coast Conference Preseason Poll
CENTRAL ISLIP, NY – The University of the District of Columbia men's tennis team has been chosen to finish second in the 2012 East Coast Conference Preseason Poll released on February 9, 2012. The Firebirds earned 21 points, including one first-place nod, as voting was conducted by the league's head coaches.
Queens College, currently ranked No. 24 in the nation, was picked to repeat as ECC champions, earning 23 points and four first-place votes.
The Firebirds, led by third-year head coach T. Richard Mahaffey III, finished second in the East Coast Conference (ECC) last year and they will look to build on their success this season as they return some core members of the team. Juniors Tomas Gajdusek (Prague, Czech Republic – Gymnazium Nad Stolou) and Bruno Reich (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Colegio Tempo de Aprender) both were named to the ECC All Conference First-Team last year. Gajdusek also received the 2010-2011 ECC Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award.
Sophomores Miguel Uzcatequi (Valencia, Venezuela – Colegio Sagrado Corazon) and Carlos Quiroga (Valencia, Venezuela – Maria Montesori) were named to the ECC All-Conference Second-Team. Uzcatequi received the 2010-2011 ECC Rookie of the Year Award.
Freshman Simon Anderson (Ystad, Sweden – Sydskanska Gymnasiet) and sophomore transfer Aleksandar Grabovac (Ljubljana, Slovenia – Gimnazija Euro Sola Ljubljana) look to round out this year's Spring squad as it seeks the program's first ECC Championship.
Coach Mahaffey was named the East Coast Conference Coach of the Year in 2010-2011, leading the Firebirds to a 13-5 record overall (4-2 in the ECC) and a second-place finish in the conference. Coach Mahaffey feels the Firebirds can hopefully take the next step to further their success.
"We expect to be exceptionally competitive in the East Coast Conference, and our goal is to ultimately win the ECC Championship," Mahaffey said. "We have an exceptional core of returners with Tomas, Bruno, Miguel, and Carlos, and we expect these young men to lead us throughout the season."
Rounding out the poll was NYIT (16), Dowling (8) and St. Thomas Aquinas (7).
The Firebirds will open their spring season on February 18th, 2012 at home against Shepherd at 4:30 p.m.