St. Scholastica runs away with preseason predictions in men's tennis
2010 UMAC Men’s Tennis Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1. 25 Points - College of St. Scholastica (5 First Place Votes)
2. 21 Points - Northwestern College (1)
3. 16 Points - Martin Luther College
4. 13 Points - Bethany Lutheran College
5. 8 Points - University of Minnesota, Morris
6. 7 Points - North Central University
ST. PAUL -- With 13 straight Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season championships under its belt, the College of St. Scholastica men’s tennis team is once again the unanimous favorite to win the league title in 2010. With 25 points in the UMAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the Saints easily bested Northwestern College, who emerged from the poll as the clear pick to take second place at the end of the season.
St. Scholastica returns to the court with a quartet of UMAC All-Conference award winners, including the 2009 player of the year in Dillon Sterle. Sterle won the No. 1 singles flight at the UMAC Tournament for the second straight year last May while teaming up with No. 2 singles player Jacob Englestad to win the No. 2 doubles flight at the same tournament. As a freshman, Engelstad went 14-6 and was 7-0 conference action. Other returning all-conference members include Brendon Anderson, Tim Dean, Kevin Hilpert, and Brian Lindberg.
A combination of returning and new players will form the Northwestern roster this season as the Eagles try to one-up themselves from last year’s second-place UMAC finish. The Eagles enter the conference season with two new players atop the singles chart, as Caleb Kauss and Keagen Blancke will try to fill the hole left by graduating senior Stephen Fread. Jeremiah Schneck, who went 7-0 in Nos. 2 and 3 singles in conference matches last season, is the Eagles’ top returner and will compete in the No. 3 singles position.
Martin Luther College, who received 16 points to place third in the preseason poll, will look to bump its UMAC record over .500 in 2010 after a 4-6 finish last year. The Knights return a good amount of experience from 2009 as coach Arlen Koestler returns five key performers from last season, led by David Zuberbier. Zuberbier finished last year with a 4-9 record at the No. 2 singles position. Also returning are Philip Hunter, Andrew Becker, Ryan Obry and Daniel Rick. These four filled the back four spots in 09, and will be battling with some talented newcomers led by Paul Koester to hold down those positions for another season.
Bethany Lutheran College was predicted to finish fourth in the conference standings, earning 13 points in the poll. An improved Vikings team finished the 2009 season with a 4-5 conference record. Returner David Blumer will start at the No. 1 singles position. Blumer finished with an 8-6 record and was named to the UMAC All-Conference First Team. Also returning for the Vikings is senior Paul Webber, who finished the 2009 campaign with a 5-9 record. Webber’s experience will help the young team as the Vikings have four freshmen and a number of new players who bring athleticism to the court.
Coming in fifth place in the poll, the University of Minnesota, Morris is hoping turn things around. With the solid returners in Caleb Power and Chris Droske, the Cougars look to improve on their one-win season of 2009. The addition of Geoffrey Girard will boost the team's flexibility in arranging singles and doubles pairings. The Fragodt brothers--Dan and Joey--will again be a solid doubles combination as Minnesota, Morris seeks more conference victories.
Coming off of its second year of tennis and the first year of UMAC associate membership, North Central University finished the 2009 season in fifth place. The Rams, who received seven points in the poll, hope to build upon their inaugural season in the conference and continue to develop a new tradition of tennis at North Central. Head coach Brian Bingel returns three of his top six singles players from 2009 including, Josiah Tonder, who played at the No. 2 spot, No. 4 singles player Cory Kalinowski and No. 5 singles Mike Svoboda.
Following 10 scheduled conference matches for each institution, all six teams will gather on May 7-8 at the Baseline Tennis Center on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis where individual and team champions will be crowned at the UMAC Tournament.