SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Roger Williams University Women's Tennis team was chosen third in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Preseason Poll, announced Friday.
 
Last season, the Roger Williams women's tennis team ended the season with seven wins while earning a berth to the CCC Semifinals. The Hawks collected three wins in conference play, while notching the No. 5 seed in the CCC Tournament. In postseason honors, three student-athletes were selected to the All-CCC team last year, as well as three players being selected as ITA Scholar-Athletes. This year's team will be loaded with depth, as the Hawks return their entire starting lineup from last season while bringing in four newcomers. Head coach Barry Gorman will guide the Hawks for his seventh season and looks to collect his first CCC Championship at RWU. Junior Heidi Martin (Scituate, Mass.), a 2018 All-CCC selection at singles and doubles, will help lead Roger Williams in the upcoming season.
 
Nichols was selected as the favorite in the CCC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Bison claimed 63 points in this year's poll including seven of a possible eight first place votes. The voting was conducted by the league's eight head women's tennis coaches last week.
 
Endicott was selected second in the preseason poll. The Gulls earned 53 points in the poll and have been the conference runner-up three years running.
 
Rounding out the top half the table were Roger Williams and Gordon in third and fourth place, respectively. The Hawks garnered 45 points, while Gordon earned 39. Salve Regina was the only other school to receive a first place vote and was ranked fifth with 33 points.
 
Western New England (26 points), Wentworth (19), and Curry (10) completed this year's polling in that order.
 
First serve for CCC women's tennis teams is Friday, Aug. 30 with two teams playing non-conference matchups. Nichols and Endicott will kick off the 2019 CCC schedule on Thursday, Sept. 12 with the remaining teams starting their conference slates later in the week. The top six teams in the conference standings at the end of the regular-season will qualify for the 2019 CCC Women's Tennis Championship Tournament. The tournament begins on Tuesday, Oct. 16 with two quarterfinal matches. The winners of those matches will move on to the semifinals on Tuesday, Oct. 22. The league season will conclude on Saturday, Oct. 26 with the CCC Tournament Championship match. The CCC Tournament Champion will earn the conference's automatic qualifier into the 2020 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championship.
 
 
2019 CCC Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll
 

	Team	Points (First Place Votes)
1.	Nichols	63 (7)
2.	Endicott	53
3.	Roger Williams	45
4.	Gordon	39
5.	Salve Regina	33 (1)
6.	Western New England	26
7.	Wentworth	19
8.	Curry	10