NEW HAVEN, Conn. - - Two-time defending champion Wilmington University was given the first-place nod in the 2023 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced on Thursday by Commissioner Dan Mara. The Wildcats earned 30 points in the voting and five first-place votes, as the voting was conducted by the league's six head coaches in the sport.
The Wildcats have won 16 consecutive games inside the CACC, going undefeated in league play the past two seasons. Wilmington also hosted the NCAA Division II East Regional Tournament at Delcastle the past two years, winning and advancing to the NCAA National Tournament in 2021 and 2022. The Wildcats went 19-4 overall last season.
Jefferson, which reached each of the last two CACC Championships Finals against the Wildcats, finished second in the poll with 23 points. Chestnut Hill took home the final first place vote and finished third with 22 points in the poll. Goldey-Beacom placed fourth overall with 18 points while Post earned fifth with 17 points. Dominican rounds out the 2023 CACC Preseason Coaches Poll in sixth place with 10 points.
Wilmington's season begins with the 2023 ITA East Regional Championships on Friday, September 15 with the Wildcats' first dual match coming on Tuesday, September 19 against Goldey-Beacom.
The 2023 regular season gets underway next Thursday, Aug. 31, as the campaign will be a buildup to the CACC Women's Tennis Championship Tournament which will be Friday-Saturday, Oct. 20-21, at the Delcastle Tennis Center in Wilmington, Del. The winner of the tournament will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament, which will be contested in early May 2024.
AGATE:
2023 CACC WOMEN'S TENNIS PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Wilmington University 30 (5)
2. Thomas Jefferson University 23
3. Chestnut Hill College 22 (1)
4. Goldey-Beacom College 18
5. Post University 17
6. Dominican University 10
() - First-Place Votes