March 12, 2007

BEVERLY, MA - The Endicott College men's tennis team opens their 2007 season this coming weekend, as the Gulls migrate south to Hilton Head Isl, South Carolina for six spring break opening matches. The 2007 squad enters the season opener with goals and hopes higher than any previous season in the history of the program.

Last year, the young Gulls posted a program best 5-10 record. When you consider that the seven-man roster consisted of two sophomores and five freshmen, the achievements of this youthful team made coaches around the Commonwealth Coast Conference take notice. This year's squad returns all roster men for '06, and will also feature some significant additions to the line-up.

Working under new head coach Todd Herrmann, the Gulls top goal is to record the first winning record in the history of the program. Anchored by first singles player and CCC Rookie of the Year Josh Schoen (Phoenix, AZ/Arcadia), the Gulls are a team bursting with talent and drive. A pair of returning juniors in Nate Buell (Westfield, MA/Westfield) and Parker Olen (Falmouth, ME/Falmouth) will lead the young Gulls with veteran experience. Sophomores Scott Teller (Granville, NY/Granville Junior/Senior High), Gabriel Moraga (Marlboro, CT/Marlboro), Marc Maloney (Feeding Hills, MA/Agawam) and Schoen join newcomer Brian Sonneborn (Rye, NH/St. Thomas Aquinas) to formulate a potent lineup.

Freshmen Scott Kitchen (Norwell, MA/Norwell) and Dan Murray (Coventry, RI/Bishop Hendricken), along with senior walk-on Nemanja Marinkovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Second Baptist, Houston, TX), will raise the bar to a new level of competitiveness and ambition.

"No one expects more from this team than they expect from themselves," said coach Todd Herrmann. "We are focused on winning every match as a team, not as a group of individual players."

The Gulls open the 2007 season on Sunday, March 18th when they square-off with Lakeland at 12:00 noon in Hilton Head, SC.