#1 Bulldogs vie for NEC title, open vs. #8 St. Francis Brooklyn Thursday 9 am

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Riding a five-game win streak, the #1 seeded Bryant men's tennis team opens Northeast Conference Championship action vs. #8 St. Francis Brooklyn, Thursday morning at 9 a.m. in West Windsor, N.J.

For the second-straight season, the Bulldogs will be the team to beat at the NEC Championships as the Black and Gold earned back-to-back #1 overall seeds in just two years of Division I postseason eligibility. After advancing all the way to the NEC Championship final a season ago, the Bulldogs are primed to dethrone two-time reigning champion Fairleigh Dickinson this weekend at Mercer County.

Led by three-time NEC Player of the Month and two-time NEC Player of the Week Dana Parziale (Pinehurst, N.C.), Bryant put together one of the most impressive seasons in school history, finishing 15-10 overall after playing a schedule that included six nationally-ranked opponents. Serving as Bryant's captain and leader, Parziale had himself a magical senior campaign, going 24-12 in singles play and 22-9 in doubles action en route to a Northeast regional ranking, the first-ever in Bryant tennis history.

Freshman Oliver Welsh (San Diego, Calif.), two-time NEC Rookie of the Month, has lived up to all the expectations in his rookie campaign, putting together an 18-12 singles record playing mostly at the no. 3 spot. Juniors Zachary Morris (Garden City, N.Y.) and Ernesto Arguello (Managua, Nicaragua), reigning NEC Rookie of the Year Max Vogt (Fair Oaks, Calif.), and freshman Christian Duarte (Dallas, Texas) round out the Bulldog's fierce lineup as they vie for their first-ever NEC crown.

Bryant will begin its quest for a conference championship Thursday morning at 9 a.m. when it opens tournament action with #8 St. Francis Brooklyn.

Click here to visit the NEC Tennis Championship Headquarters and as always for all the latest news on the Bryant University men's tennis team, visit BryantBulldogs.com.