AMHERST, N.Y. - The women's tennis coaches in the East Coast Conference have picked Daemen College to finish seventh in 2015, according to the ECC preseason poll which was released by the conference office today.  

Daemen, which is coming off an 8-15 season last year, received 14 points in the poll, edging out eighth-place Molloy College (12 points).  New York Institute of Technology swept all eight first-place votes and sits atop the poll with 64 points.  The Bears, led by ECC Preseason Player of the Year Alessia Rossetti, are seeking their fourth-straight ECC crown this season.

"I am very excited about the upcoming season," said Daemen head coach Stephen Beatty who enters his third year at the helm.  "With the freshmen class we've brought in, plus the continued development of some key signees from last year, I believe we are poised to surprise some people and move up the ladder in the ECC.  We are very excited to compete in our first season as full members of NCAA Division II, and we're looking forward to breaking team records this season, such as eclipsing our record for wins in a season."

Daemen was 13 points shy of sixth-place St. Thomas Aquinas College (27 points) in the poll.  Queens College (56 points) is the poll runner-up, followed by University of the District of Columbia (43 points), Long Island University Post (42 points) and Roberts Wesleyan College (30 points).

Beatty's squad returns its top three performers from last season.  Team M.V.P. Gretchen Ringler (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) is back for her sophomore campaign after going 11-11 in singles action as a freshman.  She's joined by junior Hayle Scanlan (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) and Karli Hollins (Orchard Park, N.Y./SUNY Geneseo) who teamed up to go 4-4 in doubles action last spring after Hollins transferred to Daemen.

Daemen opens its 2015-16 season with ECC road matches at Molloy (Sept. 4) and Queens (Sept. 5).