DOMINANCE!

TCNJ CAPTURES 20TH STRAIGHT NJAC WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP

The College of New Jersey women's tennis team won its 95th straight conference match in a streak that spans 20 years, earning the Lions the 2002 NJAC championship. TCNJ posted a 9-0 victory over Rutgers-Newark, wrapping up a perfect 5-0 conference season for their 20th consecutive NJAC title. 

Now In his third season as head coach of the Lion women's tennis program, TCNJ head coach Scott Dicheck inherited the pressures of one of the most dominating streaks in all of collegiate sports upon accepting his position in 1999.

"I was surprised to learn of the streak three years ago when I came to TCNJ, but we made a commitment to work extremely hard in an effort to keep it going," Dicheck said. "This season we faced a difficult challenge from a very good Montclair team, but I was proud of the way my team stepped up and responded."

The Lions rolled through the NJAC season and dropped only three individual matches in conference victories over Kean (9-0), Richard Stockton (8-1), Montclair State (7-2), Ramapo (9-0) and Rutgers-Newark (9-0). 

"We basically had two goals for our fall season - to win the NJAC championship and to do well at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regionals," Dicheck said. "Obviously we accomplished our first goal, and we also were able to qualify both Amy Huah and Kelly Hernandez for the ITA Nationals."

Annual contenders for the NCAA Division III Championship, TCNJ will begin its traditional season on March 29 when they travel to Saratoga Springs, NY to face Skidmore.

"Our goal for the spring is to get ranked as high as we can regionally and hopefully earn a selection to the NCAA Division III National Championship," Dicheck said.

With one of the longest winning streaks in collegiate sports remaining in tact throughout  another season, Dicheck and the Lions will look to continue their run of NJAC dominance in the future.

"It's a great challenge for us every time we take the court because every conference team is fired up to beat us and snap our streak," Dicheck said. "We've had a number of close calls over the years, but the players in this program have consistently embraced the pressure of the streak and they've worked extremely hard to sustain our tradition of success."