Saints, Eagles predicted to share UMAC Men's Tennis title in 2014
2014 UMAC Men’s Tennis Coaches’ Poll
T-1. 23 Points - College of St. Scholastica (3 First Place Votes)
T-1. 23 Points – University of Northwestern (Minn.) (3 First Place Votes)
3. 13 Points - University of Minnesota Morris
T-4. 12 Points - Bethany Lutheran College
T-4. 12 Points - Martin Luther College
6. 7 Points - North Central University (Minn.)
ST. PAUL – The College of St. Scholastica and the University of Northwestern men’s tennis teams each received three first place votes in the 2014 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) preseason coaches’ poll, it was announced Wednesday. The Saints and the Eagles are predicted to share the UMAC regular season title in 2014.
T-1. College of St. Scholastica Saints
2013 Overall Record: 20-8
2013 UMAC Record: 10-0
2013 UMAC Finish: 1st
Starters Returning: 6
Starters Lost: 1
The St. Scholastica men’s tennis team lost just one player from last year’s regular lineup that set program records for wins in a season (20), singles wins in a season (123), doubles wins in a season (58) and best singles winning percentage (.707). The Saints won their 17th straight UMAC regular season title and 13th tournament title overall. Four of the five All-UMAC players are back. The lone loss was Kolin Dean, who played towards the bottom of the singles and doubles lineup.
CSS returns arguably its top five players in sophomore Josh Stainer, junior James Mack, senior Nick Lambrecht, senior Cullen Combs and sophomore Mike Fontana. Lambrecht set the program record last season with 19 singles wins. Fontana also tied the old program record.
That record was originally held by Jacob Engelstad. Jacob’s brother, Logan Engelstad joins the team this season and is believed to be every bit as good as his older brother. Another freshman, Alex Mihailov, is also expected to make an instant impact this season.
T-1. University of Northwestern Eagles
2013 Overall Record: 13-11
2013 UMAC Record: 8-2
2013 UMAC Finish: 2nd
Starters Returning: 4
Starters Lost: 2
Despite losing some of its top talent from a year ago, the Northwestern men’s squad is still optimistic as it prepares for the 2014 season. Second-year head coach Matt Swigart is without his top two singles players – David Knight and Keagan Blancke – from a year ago, but has a steady group of returners to rely upon in addition to welcoming new faces to the program.
Jimmy Ekman enters his fourth season as a contributor to Northwestern’s team, and will most likely compete in the No. 1 singles spot. Ekman won seven matches as a freshman and has worked his way up the Eagles’ ladder to lead the squad in this year’s campaign. Ekman is joined by fellow veterans Phil Gudim, Agassi Mila and Levi Busse. Gudim, who will likely play at the No. 2 singles position, went 12-10 last year with a 6-2 performance in conference play. Mila, the anticipated No. 3 guy, and Busse, the go-to at No. 4, both went 8-2 against UMAC opponents in 2013. Both Ekman and Mila have won UMAC All-Conference awards in previous years.
Swigart’s team will be bolstered with the addition of Trevor Grasto, a newcomer from Big Lake, Minn. Grasto will join his brother, Cole, a sophomore, in an Eagles uniform in 2014.
3. University of Minnesota Morris Cougars
2013 Overall Record: 3-7
2013 UMAC Record: 2-7
2013 UMAC Finish: T-4th
Starters Returning: 5
Starters Lost: 1
The 2013 Cougar men’s tennis team that just missed the UMAC Tournament welcomes back their top players from last season in Dakota Frazier and Michael Maudal. Combined Frazier and Maudal competed in the one and two position for all but one match last season.
As a team the Cougars finished 3-7 in the UMAC last season and hope build on that record this season behind the leadership of its returning core. With a number of familiar faces returning to the 2014 squad they are looking to make strides this season and earn a spot in the UMAC Postseason Tournament in May.
T-4. Bethany Lutheran College Vikings
2013 Overall Record: 0-19
2013 UMAC Record: 0-10
2013 UMAC Finish: 6th
Starters Returning: 5
Starters Lost: 1
Things are only looking up for the Bethany men's tennis program. The squad went winless in duals last season, but what the team, and first year head coach Andy Krueger, gained was experience. Four players return along with three quality newcomers in hopes of qualifying for the conference tournament.
Ryan Koch is back after playing No. 1 singles the majority of last season. He's a hard-worker with great leadership characteristics. Challenging Koch for the No. 1 singles spot this season is newcomer Jacob Kubler. The Shakopee native committed to playing at Division II Minnesota State, Mankato before their tennis program was dropped. Fellow newcomer Zach Carlson is expected to contribute immediately in both singles and doubles.
T-4. Martin Luther College Knights
2013 Overall Record: 6-6
2013 UMAC Record: 6-4
2013 UMAC Finish: 3rd
Starters Returning: 3
Starters Lost: 3
The Martin Luther College men’s tennis team finished third in the UMAC last season, but will need to replace three of their top three performers this season in the hopes of another strong finish in the UMAC.
The Knights will need to replace four-year performers Scott Henrich and Paul Koester, who manned the top of the MLC singles and doubles line-ups for four seasons, while Russ Scoggins will also need to be replaced as the number three singles performer. Returners Jordan Bence, Kris Kuschel and Micah Koelpin will look to step up in the top half of the line-up, along with experienced performers Tom Gorzalski and Marty Johnson.
The newcomers will be led by Justin Marshall and Philip Schroeder, who could start the season in the middle of the singles line-up.
6. North Central University Rams
2013 Overall Record: 3-7
2013 UMAC Record: 3-7
2013 UMAC Finish: T-4th
Starters Returning: 3
Starters Lost: 3
North Central will return the players who played in the top three singles spots in eight of the Rams ten matches last season in a year where NCU earned fourth place and the final spot in the UMAC Postseason Tournament. The Rams also return players with significant experience in the fourth and fifth slots and add several players that should boost the Rams depth despite missing their top fourth spot singles player from a year ago. All but one member of the Rams top three doubles pairings return giving NCU hope to snag points in conference play.
Sophomore Fabian Tunberg will likely hold down the Rams top singles spot and potentially battle for a spot in one of the Rams top two doubles parings where he was last year with sophomore Ian Bird. Bird returns to take hold of his second singles spot where he earned three victories last season. Shane Christensen was the most successful Ram last season earning four individual victories at the third singles spot along with a pair of doubles wins in the second doubles slot. Sophomore Jimmy Heck also returns with experience in third through sixth singles.
The Rams will miss the efforts of junior Sutton Rehwaldt this season while he studies in China during the spring semester. Rehwaldt was the Rams best player in the fourth singles spot along with paring with Christensen in the second doubles team. The Rams will welcome the addition of Alex Bird, brother of Ian, who will challenge for one of the top spots in both singles and doubles play after playing at Lakeville South (Minn.) high school.