Saints top 2017 UMAC Men's Tennis Preseason Poll

2/1/2017 9:45:43 AM

ST. PAUL, Minn.---The College of St. Scholastica has produced the kinds of success in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men’s tennis that can only be defined as that of a dynasty. The Saints have won 20-consecutive regular season conference titles and five-straight postseason championships.

Heading into the 2017, the results should be no different as the Saints return a solid lineup of all-conference players – making them an easy selection for first place in UMAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll announced Wednesday.

| Poll | Matchups | Team Previews |

The Saints were slotted for the top spot with 24 points and four first place votes, while Bethany Lutheran College picked up one first place vote and a total of 19 points for second place in poll. The University of Northwestern was bumped to third with 18 points and one first place nod from the coaches.

A repeat conference title appears to be in the making after the Saints cruised to a 10-0 league mark in 2016 and 16-6 overall record. Head Coach Wells Patten earned his eighth-straight UMAC Coach of the Year honor after his team dropped just three singles matches all season. As good as the Saints were in conference singles last season (57-3), they were just as good in UMAC doubles matches going 28-2. The Saints have also won 144 consecutive UMAC regular season dual matches – the last loss came April 27, 1997.

Repeating that success again in 2017 won’t be easy, though, as the Saints suffered three huge losses in the offseason including that of three-time UMAC Player of the Year Josh Stainer. In each of his four seasons with the Saints, Stainer earned All-UMAC accolades and finished his stellar career with a flawless conference record in singles (7-0) and doubles (10-0) with all of his wins coming at the No. 1 position. The Saints’ star ended with 116 career wins between singles and doubles.

Stainer isn’t the only tough loss the Saints must overcome – they also lost four-time All-UMAC honoree Mike Fontana who ended his career with a program-record 66 singles wins. As a senior, Fontana went 10-0 in conference singles matches and 5-0 in conference doubles. Additionally, the Saints will need to replace Jordan Lindholm who earned All-UMAC honors last spring after going 7-1 in conference doubles and 5-0 in singles.

Fortunately for Patten, his squad is in good shape with the return of three All-UMAC players in Logan Englestad, Makar Gretsevych and Bryce Gadke. Englestad earned his second all-conference honor in as many years in 2016 with a flawless 7-0 UMAC singles mark and 9-0 doubles at the No. 1 position with Stainer. Gretsevych went 7-1 in UMAC singles with a majority of victories coming at the No. 2 spot, while Gadke had a solid rookie debut with a 7-0 UMAC doubles record.

In addition to those three standouts, the Saints return five players who saw action in the UMAC lineup a year ago and combined for 10 singles wins and 13 doubles victories. The Saints also have several newcomers who have already seen action this season near the top of the team lineup and should help the team pick up where it left off a year ago.

Following a 6-4 UMAC season last year, Bethany Lutheran should be in good shape to challenge not only for a postseason position but also for the league title. The Vikings edged out a Northwestern squad – which went 8-2 in league play and 13-15 overall last season – for second place in the poll. With the return of several key players, the title may not be out of question for the Vikings.

Three seniors will lead the Vikings in 2017 under new Head Coach Jill Bailey after placing third a year ago. Jacob Kubler was a All-UMAC pick as a junior after going 6-4 in conference play with all of his wins coming at the No. 2 position. Brent Heflin is a loss at the top spot following a 5-4 outing to end his career as a Viking, but Kubler should step up to take on that role.

Andrew Jelken and Dexter Jackson will help add to the senior leadership following seasons in which both posted six doubles wins in UMAC play and six and five singles wins, respectively. Carter Dahl should also be an important comeback player after missing 2016 due to health issues.

Northwestern was a top contender to upset the Saints last season, managing to take three games in the season finale with the title on the line. However, they fell 8-1 in the tournament championship and will again have hopes of upset in 2017. The Eagles were a surprise taking the third spot in the poll, but were just one point from the Vikings who couldn’t quite find the upper-hand in either matchup between the two squads a year ago.

The Eagles will be led by returning two-time All-UMAC picks CJ Lloyd and Josh Kimball as well as Landon Ridpath who earned all-conference honors as a rookie. Lloyd went 7-2 at No. 1 UMAC singles and 8-2 at No. 1 UMAC doubles. Kimball and Ridpath were both 8-2 in conference singles and doubles and should help Lloyd take the Eagles to similar success again in 2017.

Martin Luther College was a tournament team a year ago after knocking North Central University out of contention with a 3-7 UMAC mark. To make a return trip to the postseason, the Knights will need its six returning starters to lead the way. In that group are Justin Marshall, Josh Koelpin and Justin Steinke who each saw some success and singles and doubles and played consistently in the top half of the lineup.

North Central was selected to place fifth with eight points, while the University of Minnesota Morris rounded out the poll with seven points in sixth. The Rams will look to push for the postseason with the return of Lucas Bjur to their starting six. The Cougars will rely on Calvin Cicha and Paul Leslie who each scored three or more overall singles wins last season.

UMAC play began opening weekend with North Central taking on Northwestern. They will then face St. Scholastica Saturday, while the remainder of the matches won’t begin until later in February. The thick of the conference season kicks off March 24 with five teams in action. Northwestern and St. Scholastica will also meet for the first time of 2017 on March 25 in Duluth, Minnesota.

The following weekend, Minnesota Morris will look to knock off Martin Luther on April 1 with the hopes of returning to the postseason tournament for the first time since 2014. April 8 will see Bethany Lutheran try to knock off the Eagles and the Rams before facing local rival martin Luther on April 11.

Northwestern and St. Scholastica will meet again in St. Paul on April 13 before hosting a trio of matches on April 17 with North Central and Minnesota Morris. Martin Luther and Bethany Lutheran will meet again on April 19 before all six teams are in action April 22. The season wraps April 29.

The UMAC postseason tournament will take place beginning Friday, May 5 and run through Saturday, May 6, at the University of Minnesota Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis. With the addition of programs from Crown College and University of Wisconsin-Superior for the 2018 season, this will be the final season of the UMAC tournament at the U of M as the format will move next spring to a high-seed host with a NCAA automatic qualifying bid on the line.

Complete UMAC Schedule

2017 UMAC Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. St. Scholastica - 24 points (4 First Place Votes)
2. Bethany Lutheran - 19 points (1 First Place Vote)
3. Northwestern - 18 points (1 First Place Vote)
4. Martin Luther - 14 points
5. North Central - 8 points
6. Minnesota Morris - 7 points

2. Bethany Lutheran College
Jill Bailey |1st Season |

2016 Season
6-4 UMAC, 8-16 Overall| 4th |
Postseason: Lost to UNW in the semifinals 1-8 of the UMAC Postseason Tournament

Starters returning: 5
Starters lost: 1

Top Returners
- Jacob Kubler, Sr. | 2016 First-Team All-UMAC |2016: 8-15 Singles Record, 10-12 Doubles Record |
- Dexter Jackson, Sr. | 2016: 11-11 Singles Record, 8-14 Doubles Record |
- Andrew Jelken, Sr. | 2015 First-Team UMAC | Other Honors | 2016: 6-10 Singles Record, 6-8 Doubles Record |

Top Losses
- Brent Heflin | 2016: 7-15 Singles Record, 8-13 Doubles Record |

Need to Know
- Jill Bailey enters her first season as the Head Men's and Women's Tennis Coach
- Carter Dahl returns to the Vikings lineup after missing the 2015-16 campaign due to health reasons
- The Vikings will begin conference play on Feb. 18 against North Central at the Lifetime Fitness in Fridley, Minn.

3. University of Northwestern
Matt Swigart | 5th Season |

2016 Season
8-2 UMAC, 13-15| 2nd |
Postseason: Lost in UMAC Tournament Championship to CSS.

Starters returning: 5
Starters lost: 1

Top Returners
- CJ Lloyd, Jr. | 2015, 2016 All-UMAC |2016: Singles – 11-15, Doubles – 13-14 |
- Landon Ridpath, So. | 2016 All-UMAC | 2016: Singles – 15-12, Doubles – 15-12|
- Josh Kimball, Jr. | 2015, 2016 All-UMAC | 2016: Singles – 13-11, Doubles – 2-0|

Need to Know
- The Eagles return CJ Lloyd at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles for his junior season.
- UNW advanced to the UMAC Tournament Championship after putting together an 8-2 conference record.
- The Eagles opened the season Jan. 28 against Bethel University and NCU.

4. Martin Luther College
Arlen Koestler | 22nd season |

2016 Season
3-7 UMAC, 3-14 overall | T-4th |

Starters returning: 6
Starters lost: 0

Top Returners
- Justin Marshall, Sr. | 2016: 1-15 Singles Record, 1-15 Doubles Record | Played #1 spot last season in singles |
- Josh Koelpin, So. | 2016: 5-11 Singles Record, 2-12 Doubles Record | Played in the middle of the line-up last year |
- Justin Steinke, Jr. | 2016: 1-14 Singles Record, 1-14 Doubles Record | Played mostly in the #2 spot in singles last year |

Need to Know
- MLC returns its top six players from last season’s team that finished tied for fourth place and made the UMAC Postseason Tournament.
- Along with the top three mentioned above, the Knights also return Philip Schroeder, Nicolas Gartner and Ethan Schultz from last year’s team.

5. North Central University
Amanda McDonald | 1st season |

2016 Season
3-7 UMAC, 3-9 Overall | 5th |

Starters returning: 1
Starters lost: 5

Top Returners
- Lucas Bjur, So. | 0-4 #6 singles, 0-4 in various doubles pairs

Top Losses
- Ian Bird | 1-10 in #1 singles
- Alex Bird | 2-9 various singles
- Shane Christensen | 3-7 various singles

Need to Know
- Rams will replace five of their top six from 2016.

6. University of Minnesota Morris
Devin Chuba | 1st season |

2016 Season
0-10 UMAC, 0-12 Overall | 6th |

Starters returning: 4
Starters lost: 3

Top Returners
- Calvin Cicha, Sr. – 3-9 singles (0-2 at #1 singles, 3-4 at #2 singles), 1-10 doubles
- Paul Leslie, Jr. – 4-4 singles (1-1 at #2 singles, 1-2 at #3 singles, 2-1 at #4 singles), 0-8 doubles
- Matthew Fischbach, Sr. – 0-7 singles, 0-7 doubles

Top Losses
- Michael Maudal – 5-5 at #1 singles, 1-10 at #1 doubles
- Tselmeg Ganbold – 1-3 singles, 0-8 doubles
- Brian Nyakundi – 0-11 singles, 0-9 doubles

Need to Know
- Devin Chuba enters his first year as head coach; he is also the men’s soccer assistant coach.
- After a year absence, the Cougars will look to return to UMAC postseason play.

Schedule

Upper Midwest Athletic Conference

Conference Members

Conference Members

Saints top 2017 UMAC Men's Tennis Preseason Poll