Christian Brothers Academy Tennis kicked off the 2017 season with a big win thanks to the excellent play of sophomore Connor Nelson.

In the first singles position, Nelson defeated Somerville's Nikhil Kamdar in a third set tiebreaker, 5-7, 6-4, 6-7 (10-6). The victory is especially notable since Kamdar did not lose a singles match last season. The Somerville standout finished the 2016 campaign at a perfect 23-0.

Senior Sean Reilly and freshman Kyriacos Petrou also picked up singles wins for CBA. The doubles duos of Andrew DeMaio & Matt Jaworski and Vito Mazza & Neil McAlarney both won in straight sets.

Nelson and Reilly were top singles players for CBA last season and are expected to lead the Colts throughout 2017. Christian Brothers was ranked No. 20 to start the season, after falling in the Shore Conference final and South Jersey final last year.

Under first year head coach Courter Smith, the 24-time state champion Colts are expected to battle perennial Shore power Holmdel for the conference crown. (Photo courtesy of NJ.com.)

For more on CBA Tennis, follow the Colts on Twitter at @CBATennis.