BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University men's tennis team has been picked to finish second in the 2013 Little East Conference regular season standings according to the annual preseason coaches' poll that was released by the conference office on Friday afternoon.

The UMass Dartmouth Corsairs were nearly a unanimous selection by the seven coaches to win the conference title, earning six out of the seven first place votes and 48 total points.

Bridgewater State University edged University of Massachusetts Boston for the second position in the preseason survey. The Bears received 37 total points, while the Beacons tallied the remaining first place vote.

University of Southern Maine (22) and Western Connecticut State University (22) share the No. 4 ranking, while Salem State University (21) and Rhode Island College (11) completed the seven-team field in respective order.

Under the guidance of 2012 Little East Conference Coach of the Year Barry Gorman, the Bears return five veterans from last season's roster including #1 singles player, sophomore Wesley Esthimer (Franklin, Mass.).  Also returning to the lineup are juniors Cody Farrell (Scituate, Mass.), Colin Fontaine (Westfield, Mass.) and Jesse Gotlib (Dartmouth, Mass.), and sophomore Sean Bleau (North Dighton, Mass.).

Esthimer recorded a 5-9 mark out of the top flight singles spot in his rookie campaign while also posting a record of 6-6 at first doubles.  Farrell went 10-3 rotating between fifth and sixth singles, while Gotlib was 9-6 at the fourth and fifth spots.  Bleau finished 5-7 competing mostly out of the third flight.

Bleau and Gotlib paired up for a 6-6 record in doubles play a year ago with a 5-5 mark at the second flight.  Farrell went 6-4 at third doubles and 8-6 overall, while Fontaine finished 3-0 in limited doubles play.

The BSU men's tennis team opens regular season play on Saturday evening at 6:30 as the Bears travel to the Paxton Sports Centre in Paxton, Massachusetts to take on the AMCATS of Anna Maria College.  The Bears' home opener is on Monday afternoon at 3:30 versus Johnson & Wales University.

The Little East will sponsor a traditional round-robin schedule in 2013 with each team playing each other once. The top six teams in the final regular-season standings qualify for the annual conference championship. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds earn a bye and host a semifinal match on Thursday, May 2. The two semifinal winners will advance to the Little East Championship on Saturday, May 4 at the highest remaining seed.