SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 27) – Nichols College first year men’s tennis player Justin DeLuca (Mashpee, Mass.) has been named the The Commonwealth Coast Conference Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, it was announced Tuesday by Commissioner Gregg M. Kaye. In addition, DeLuca and six other Bison men’s tennis players earned All-Conference accolades.
Voting for the All-TCCC team and each of the major awards was conducted among TCCC men’s tennis coaches.
DeLuca posted a 9-0 TCCC mark at No. 1 singles, and boasted a sparkling overall record of 19-0 in his freshman campaign, establishing a new school record for wins in a season. DeLuca has gone to three sets just twice on the year, and has dropped a mere 18 games in conference play. In doubles competition, he teamed with junior Tyler McLaughlin (Hollis, N.H.) to compile a 7-3 record in conference play from the top flight. DeLuca also earned First Team Singles honors and joined McLaughlin with Second Team Doubles accolades.
Sophomore David Drucker (Bellmore, N.Y.) also earned a spot at First Team Singles with an 11-0 TCCC singles mark mostly at the No. 2 position. Overall he is 17-1 in his rookie campaign, having dropped only a three-set match during spring training. Drucker teamed up with Eliot Wuhrmann (Fontainbleau, France) for Honorable Mention Doubles accolades, as the pair went 8-0 in TCCC play at the third flight. The pair is 9-1 overall.
With an 8-1 TCCC record, sophomore Steve Carella (Rocky Hill, Conn.) was named to the Second Team Singles. Carella played the bulk of his matches at the No. 3 position and also won a pair at the second flight. Overall, Carella posted a 14-5 record in singles play. He and first year Tony Ramsdell (Gardner, Mass.) earned a spot on the Honorable Mention Doubles team with a 7-2 conference ledger at the No. 2 spot. Overall the duo is 9-3.
First year Dan Young (Washington Depot, Conn.) went 8-0 between the fifth and sixth singles spots in TCCC matches for the Bison to earn Honorable Mention Singles accolades. He is 11-4 overall in singles play.
Nichols has won a program-record 16 matches this season and claimed the second seed in the TCCC Tournament with a 10-1 conference ledger. The Bison are scheduled to host seventh-seeded Wentworth in a quarterfinal round match at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Francis W. Robinson Courts.
PLAYER/ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Justin DeLuca
FIRST TEAM - SINGLES
Justin DeLuca
David Drucker
SECOND TEAM - SINGLES
Stephen Carella
SECOND TEAM - DOUBLES
Justin DeLuca / Tyler McLaughlin
HONORABLE MENTION - SINGLES
Daniel Young
HONORABLE MENTION - DOUBLES
Stephen Carella / Tony Ramsdell
David Drucker / Eliot Wuhrmann