Penn State Harrisburg, who started their fall season off at 2-2, is excited to begin the spring portion of their 2014-2015 campaign.  The Lions boast 5 freshmen on their roster this year including Jonny Xue, who started at the number one spot in the fall.  The only way to go is up for this young team, the Lions went 0-6 last year in their first year in the grueling Capital Athletic Conference (CAC).  The Blue and White will begin their spring season at home March 21st when they welcome Mary Washington to town.  

Read the full CAC Preseason article below and check out Penn State Harrisburg in the CAC Preason video from at the 1:10 mark. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAyVpkHkjNg#t=27

CAC Men's Tennis Preseason Webcast 

As 16-time defending champions, the Mary Washington men's tennis team is usually the easy pick in the CAC preseason coaches poll.  This year, it may be even easier for the coaches to place UMW on top of the pack as the Eagles return a veteran lineup from a team that advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament third round in 2014.

Mary Washington was the unanimous choice to win the title among CAC coaches, gaining all seven available first-place votes and 49 total points in the poll (coaches are not permitted to vote for their own team). 

Christopher Newport, which gained one first-place vote, edged Salisbury for second place in the preseason poll.  The Captains, who finished second in the 2014 regular-season standings, collected 42 points while Salisbury, which finished third but advanced to the conference title match for the ninth-straight year, gained 38 points in the preseason poll.

The coaches predict a great battle for the final two CAC playoff berths among St. Mary's (25 points), York (24 points) and Southern Virginia (20 points), which is eligible for the conference post-season tournament for the first time.  SMC edged YCP for fourth place in last year's standings.

Several coaches predicted Frostburg State (14 points) and Penn State Harrisburg (12 points) would impact the playoff draw in 2015.

Most CAC teams played in the ITA championship and a few non-traditional matches during the fall season.  The spring season started with Mary Washington and Christopher Newport posting wins over NCAA Division I competition in early February.

The teams will battle through April to gain one of the five CAC playoff opportunities, culminating with the two finalists playing for the CAC crown and an NCAA automatic bid on Saturday, April 25.

Here is a brief look at each team heading into the 2014-15 season:

CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT returns three All-Conference performers to a young, talented roster in 2015, led by junior Chiraag Shetty. Shetty, a two-time All-Conference performer, comes into the season with 30 singles wins in his first two years, and is the lone upperclassmen this season. A strong sophomore class, with Steven Boslet, Arttu Fiva, Michael Dodd and Sam Thomson, will help provide depth for head coach Eric Christiansen, while an exciting group of freshmen look to make an impact right away. In the fall, Max Katcher and Dillon Sykes each posted a team-high three singles victories, while fellow freshmen David Reed and Justin Cerny paired together to go 4-2 in doubles. The CNU men opened up with a win over Division I Longwood, their first win over a DI program since 2011.

When asked about his 2015 men's tennis quad, FROSTBURG STATE head coach Stuart Swink was quick to mention the return of senior Kenneth Albanand junior Colin Christian. Alban collected a total of 14 wins in both singles and doubles play last spring and should resume his spot at No. 1 singles this year. Christian should move to No. 2 singles after competing at No. 3 last spring and together, Alban and Christian will be Frostburg's No. 1 doubles pair.

Fifteenth-ranked MARY WASHINGTON will open the spring in search of its 16th straight CAC crown and NCAA Tournament appearance. With a roster returning basically intact from last season, UMW has high hopes for the 2015 season. With five of the top six returning from last year, including All-Americans Tyler Carey and Evan Charles, and standouts Stratton Gilmore, Brandon Griffin, and David Lunding-Johansson, as well as key contributors Andrew Curtis, Alex Cragg, and Scott Buie, the Eagles bring a wealth of battle tested experience.  Newcomers Joe Dillenbeck, Eric Hurwitz, and Nolan Perugini will battle for lineup spots as well.

PENN STATE HARRISBURG is coming off a tough first year in the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC).  The Lions went 0-6 in the conference and 6-11 overall last year.  Freshman Johnny Xue played at number one singles for most of the year and will look to improve in his second season along with fellow sophomore Chris Magee.  Magee and Xue also spent time playing together in their doubles pairings.  With five freshmen coming in this year, the Lions will look to improve on their 2-2 fall campaign starting this spring.

ST. MARY'S 2015 campaign will be a rebuilding year with the graduation of three of its top players - 2013 CAC Player of the Year Andrew Gear (1S/1D), John Feighner (3S/2D), and J. Guzzone (4S/2D). The Seahawks will look to team captains Robert Bishop and Mark Hardesty to get the team's eight-man roster ready for the talented, strong play found within the conference. 

SALISBURY returns its primary contributors in the top three spots in the singles lineup and its NCAA –qualifying top doubles squad for 2015 coming off the team's ninth-straight appearance in the CAC championship match. Senior Daniel Albers and junior Eric Spangler look to lead the squad in 2015, following a trip to the NCAA tournament as a doubles team. The duo took just one loss in 2014 – in the NCAA tournament – and was named to the All-CAC second team following a 17-1 campaign. Spangler picked up first-team All-CAC singles honors, with a 12-2 record, primarily at No. 2. Albers posted an 11-5 record at No. 1, while senior Demitri Vrahnos was 7-4 at No. 3 singles.

SOUTHERN VIRGINIA enters the spring 2015 season with high hopes after its inaugural campaign in the Capital Athletic Conference last year as all athletic teams can now qualify for postseason action in the CAC.  Had Southern Virginia University athletics not been a provisional member of NCAA Division III, the Knights (11-8, 4-3 CAC) would have finished fourth in conference standings and qualified for postseason play.  This season features a slew of newcomers as junior Dallin Evans is the lone returner for the Knights. Southern Virginia lost three of its top four players from last year's team in Cooper Brown, Zac Bowers and Pradeep Ravisankar, but bring in many new players looking to make big contributions.  Southern Virginia played in three matches in the fall of 2014 and finished with a 1-2 record, falling to Emory & Henry and Ferrum College while picking up a victory over West Virginia State.

YORK comes off a solid fall campaign in which the Spartans went 4-0 with wins over Catholic, Stevenson, Goucher and Messiah. The Spartan singles are led by senior Matt Rosenkrantz, senior Daniel Erk, sophomore Kaltrin Bullaj, and freshman Devin Lehigh. In doubles, Jake Greenstein and Rosenkrantz went 4-0 at second doubles in the fall while Rory Handlin and Zach Hanson also went 4-0 in fall campaign.

2015 CAC Men's Tennis Pre-Season Coaches Poll