NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A new era of men's tennis in the NCAA Division II East Region begins this spring as the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) and ECC have combined to form one tennis league to compete for the automatic bid to the D2 East Region Tournament in early May at a site to be determined. 
 
The conference will feature a CACC Division and an ECC Division. All teams in both divisions will play a full league schedule against the other teams in their respective division during the regular season and compete in a divisional tournament in late April. The winner of the CACC Division and ECC Division following their respective tournaments will square off in the conference championship final on Saturday, May 4. The winner will earn the conference's AQ to the NCAA Tournament. Several teams in both divisions will also square off against the opposing division during the regular season, but will not be counted towards the league standings for post-season qualification.
 
The ECC Division begins league play on Saturday, March 2, while the CACC Division will get started on Saturday, March 23. Both divisions feature numerous teams that are some of the top programs in the East Region.ed in various years to the NCAA Division II National Championship Finals Tournament (Thomas Jefferson University and Chestnut Hill College in the CACC Division & St. Thomas Aquinas College and Queens College in the ECC Division).
 
The CACC also announced its preseason divisional poll on Monday, joining the ECC's divisional poll. Two-time defending conference champ Jefferson topped the CACC side with nine points, including three first-place votes. Chestnut Hill was second with seven points. The Rams and Griffins have met in the last two CACC finals.
 
On the ECC side, Queens and STAC were tied for first place. Voting for the divisional polls were conducted by the conference's head coaches in the sport, as they voted on their respective divisions.
 
2024 CACC-ECC MEN'S TENNIS CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL 
CACC Divsion
1. Thomas Jefferson University - 9 points (3 first-place votes) 
2. Chestnut Hill College - 7 points (1 first-place vote) 
3. Post University - 5 points
4. Dominican University - 3 points
 
ECC Division
T1. Queens College - 14 points (2 first-place votes) 
T1. St. Thomas Aquinas College - 14 points (2 first-place votes) 
3. University of District of Columbia - 7 points 
4. Daemen University - 5 points