Men's Tennis

NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University men's tennis squad is back on the courts, following up their best season in 11 years, as they finished 2010 with a 7-4 record.

Starting his fifth season as the head coach of the NU tennis program is Kyle Dezotell, who was named Coach of the Year in 2007. He returns three players from last year's successful squad and is welcoming six new faces to the team, including two seniors.

Juniors Collin Hyte (Marblehead, Mass.) and Graham Oliveira (Westerly, R.I.) have put on the maroon and gold uniforms since their freshman year and will be valuable leaders for their new teammates, sharing their experience in both singles and doubles action.

Last year, both Hyte and Oliveira played with multiple doubles partners, as Hyte collected an overall 7-4 record and Oliveira finished 3-8. Hyte held an impressive 9-1 singles record at the No. 1 spot and was undefeated against his Great Northeast Athletic Conference opponents, earning him the Player of the Year accolade. Hyte will remain as the team's #1 singles player, while Oliveira will hold the responsibilities of the No. 3 spot.

Sophomore Michael Settle (Mays Landing, N.J.) returns for his second round with the Cadets and was the No. 5 singles player on the 2010 squad. He will battle for the No. 5/6 seed with some of the new player additions.

Joining the team in the final semester of their Norwich careers are seniors Luis Galvez (Guatemala) and Robert Martin (Plainfield, N.J.). Although taking the court with the Cadets for the first time in his four-year collegiate career, Galvez holds a background in the sport and has the experience and skill for the No. 4 singles position.

In his first season with the Cadets, freshman Christian Hoskey (Saint Charles, Ill.) has filled in at No. 2 singles. Coach Dezotell says that Hoskey and Hyte will join together in doubles action against the conference's top competitors at Suffolk and Emerson.

Joining Hoskey for their inaugural season are freshmen Brandon Carver (Peru, Maine) and Joseph Dvorak (De Soto, Kan.), and the team's New Yorker, Anthony Verno.

The Cadets have a 10-game schedule for their 2011 campaign, opening non-conference play on March 9 against Castleton State College on the Spartans' home courts. Saturday, March 26, will mark the team's conference opener at Suffolk.

As Suffolk and Emerson have proven to be two successful GNAC rivals, always finishing at the top of the conference charts, Dezotell says that his matches against Johnson and Wales and Albertus Magnus will be the key events that decide who will make the 2011 tournament.

-CADETS­-