Central Islip, N.Y. – Winners of the past three East Coast Conference Men's Tennis Championships, the New York Institute of Technology has been selected as the favorite once again in a preseason poll of the conference's coaches. NYIT's Tomas Lieb (Buenos Aires, Argentina) has also been selected as the Preseason Player of the Year..
NYIT was unanimous pick for the top spot, receiving all six first place votes for 36 points. University of the District of Columbia finished second in the poll with 36 points. The rest of the top-four mirrors the participants from last year's ECC Tournament field with Queens College at No. 2, followed by University of the District of Columbia, and Roberts Wesleyan College. Daemen College and St. Thomas Aquinas College round out the poll with a tie for the fifth spot in the ranking.
NYIT was unblemished in their run to a third consecutive conference title in 2015, moving their conference winning streak to 14 straight matches. The Bears also earned a spot in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the fourth straight year and advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 for the third season in a row. NYIT has earned national recognition as well, currently ranking No. 29 in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
A three-time All-Conference selection, Lieb begins his final season at NYIT as the conference's Preseason Player of the Year. In 2015, Lieb compiled an overall record of 16-5 in singles and 22-4 in doubles. He was unbeaten in ECC play, finishing a perfect 6-0 in both singles and doubles. Lieb is also coming off a strong fall season in which he advanced to the singles quarterfinals and doubles semifinals of the ITA East Region "A" Tournament. His play has earned him a No. 6 ranking in the East Region in singles and a No. 19 national ranking with partner Nicolas Auruccio in doubles, as well.
2016 ECC Men's Tennis Preseason Poll
| School | Pts. | Last Year's Record |
| 1. NYIT (6) | 36 | 15-8 (6-0 ECC) |
| 2. Queens | 28 | 13-6 (5-1 ECC) |
| 3. District of Columbia | 26 | 8-9 (4-2 ECC) |
| 4. Roberts Wesleyan | 16 | 12-10 (3-3 ECC) |
| T5. Daemen | 10 | 7-16 (1-5 ECC) |
| T5. St. Thomas Aquinas | 10 | 7-13 (1-5 ECC) |
Preseason Player of the Year: Tomas Lieb, Sr., NYIT
