St. Scholastica unanimous favorite in 2018 men's tennis poll
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The College of St. Scholastica has established a dynasty in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men’s tennis winning 21-consecutive regular season conference titles and six-straight postseason championships. This year, everything could finally come together for the Saints with a first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament on the line – the Saints were a unanimous first-place pick in the 2018 UMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll announced Tuesday.
For the first time in UMAC history, the winner of the playoff tournament will earn the conference's automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA postseason. With the addition of tennis at both Crown College and the University of Wisconsin-Superior this season, the UMAC will have an opportunity for a conference team to represent it for the first time in its NCAA era. The conference tournament will also see the top four teams advance with top seeds hosting both semifinals and finals. Each UMAC squad will also play one conference contest against each other league opponent to count toward the conference standings.
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Poll |
Matchups |
Team Previews |
The Saints garnered 49 points from the coaches with seven first-place votes. The dominant Saints will look to extend their 152-match conference winning streak – which dates back to 1998 – with a chance to play on the national stage. The Saints lost some talent from a year ago, but will look to hold off a veteran University of Northwestern squad with the return of several key players.
Reigning UMAC Player of the Year Serhii Tykhonenko will highlight the Saints' solid lineup. The sophomore had a knock-out rookie season winning 14 singles matches and ranking as high as the No. 24 spot in the ITA Central Region individual rankings. He is joined by back-to-back All-UMAC selection Bryce Gadke. The two will look to lead the Saints after losing four-year standout Logan Englestad
Northwestern received one first-place vote for a total of 43 points as a unanimous pick for second. The Eagles bring back three-time All-UMAC senior CJ Lloyd who has taken on the tough task of competing at the top spot in each of his three seasons. He is joined by fellow three-time All-UMAC award winner Josh Kimball as well as Landon Ridpath who has earned all-conference honors twice in as many seasons.
Bethany Lutheran College will look to place in the top three for the fifth-straight season to make a UMAC tournament appearance. The Vikings racked up 37 points in the poll and should have a solid season with the return of All-UMAC senior Dexter Jackson who collected 15 singles wins a season ago. Juniors Dalton Werckman, Carter Dahl and Laine Larson should also contribute.
Martin Luther College will challenge for a top-three finish after making the postseason each of the last two years. Junior Josh Koelpin will lead the way after finishing with All-UMAC honors as a sophomore. Seniors Justin Steinke and Ethan Schultz each collected eight doubles wins last year and should be a strong duo to help fuel the Knights.
The University of Minnesota Morris will hope to challenge for a postseason position taking fifth with 23 points, while upstart Wisconsin-Superior will look to impress taking sixth with 22 points. The Cougars will rely on senior Paul Leslie who played at the top spot all season and won four matches in 2017. The Yellowjackets bring in fresh talent to spark the new program.
Other newcomer Crown took the seventh spot with 12 points with several multi-sport athletes taking the charge to lead the new team. North Central University rounds out the poll with eight points in eighth.
Four UMAC programs kick off the 2018 season this weekend including Wisconsin-Superior's inaugural match against Concordia College. Most UMAC programs have several matches scheduled throughout February with Crown playing it's first-ever match against the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Feb. 17.
Into March, most UMAC teams continue non-conference action while Crown and Wisconsin-Superior will face off March 22 for the first conference game of the year. Several other UMAC programs will begin league play that same Saturday.
Key rivalry matchups include the top two squads in St. Scholastica and Northwestern facing off in St. Paul on April 19. Bethany Lutheran plays at Martin Luther on April 21 for the conference game between the two teams. They meet earlier in non-conference action.
The UMAC postseason tournament will feature the top four squads in the conference standings beginning Wednesday, May 2. The top two seeds will host semifinal matches that Wednesday with the title match slated for Saturday at the highest remaining seed.
Complete UMAC Schedule
2018 UMAC Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. St. Scholastica - 49 points (7 First Place Votes)
2. Northwestern - 43 points (1 First Place Vote)
3. Bethany Lutheran - 37 points
4. Martin Luther - 30 points
5. Minnesota Morris - 23 points
6. Wisconsin-Superior - 22 points
7. Crown -12 points
8. North Central - 8 points
Team Previews
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BLC |
CC |
CSS |
MLC |
NCU |
UMM |
UNW |
UWS |
Bethany Lutheran College
Jill Bailey | 2nd Season |
2017 Season
4-4 UMAC, 10-13 Overall | 3rd |
Postseason: #3 Seed in UMAC Conference Tournament Lost 3-6 to #2 Northwestern
Top Returners
- Laine Larson, Jr. | 2017: Singles – 8-15, Doubles – 9-14
- Dalton Werckman, Jr. | 2017: Singles – 9-14, Doubles – 6-15
- Carter Dahl, Jr. | 2015 All-UMAC | 2017: Singles – 11-12, Doubles – 8-14
- Dexter Jackson, Sr. | 2017 All-UMAC | 2017: Singles – 15-3, Doubles – 10-8
College of St. Scholastica
Wells Patten | 22nd Season |
2017 Season
8-0 UMAC, 20-1 | 1st |
Postseason: UMAC Tournament Champions (9-0 vs. Northwestern)
Top Returners
- Serhii Tykhonenko, So. | 2017 UMAC Player of the Year, 2017 First Team All-UMAC | 2017: 14-7, 17-3 | Ranked #24 in the ITA Central Region Rankings at one point last season, Became the first Saint to advance to the quarterfinals at the ITA Regional Championships in the fall|
- Bryce Gadke, Jr. | 2017, 2016 All-UMAC | 2017: 17-5, 7-9 |
- Trace Combs, Sr.| 2017: 5-4, 6-9 |
Need to Know
The Saints have won 152 consecutive UMAC dual matches dating back to 1998.
Crown College
Eric Shourds | 1st Season |
Need to Know
2018 is the first year of the Crown Tennis program.
Martin Luther College
Arlen Koester | 23rd season |
2017 Season
2-6 UMAC, 4-10 overall | 4th |
Postseason: Lost semi-final round of UMAC tournament
Top Returners
- Josh Koelpin, Jr.| 2017 All-UMAC | 2017: 5-6 Singles, 2-6 Doubles |played as singles #4 and doubles #2 |
- Justin Steinke, Sr. | 2017: 3-10 Singles, 8-5 Doubles |played as singles #2 and doubles #2/3 |
- Ethan Schultz, Sr. | 2017: 8-5 Singles, 8-5 Doubles |played as singles #5/6 and doubles #2/3 |
Need to Know
MLC has qualified for the UMAC Tennis Championships each of the last two seasons.
North Central University
Carin L. Tuff | 1st Season |
Need to Know
The Rams will be restarting the 2018 season with an entirely new roster. The tennis players are excited to play, represent NCU faithfully and play competitively in the UMAC conference.
University of Minnesota Morris
Devin Chuba | 2nd Season |
2017 Season
0-8 UMAC, 0-13 Overall | 5th |
Top Returners
- Paul Leslie, Sr. | 2017: 4-8 Singles Record, 0-12 Doubles Record
- Andy Haley, Sr. | 2017: 1-8 Singles Record, 0-9 Doubles Record
- Franklin Real, So. | 2017: 0-13 Singles Record, 0-13 Doubles Record
Need to Know
2018 is expected to have the biggest roster size in 10-plus years.
University of Northwestern
Matt Swigart | 6th Season |
2017 Season
6-2 UMAC, 12-16 Overall | 2nd |
Top Returners
- CJ Lloyd, Sr. | 2015 UMAC All-Conference, 2016 UMAC Player of the Week [x2], 2016 UMAC All-Conference, 2017 UMAC Player of the Week [x1], 2017 UMAC All-Conference |2017 NCCAA All-North Central Region Second Team All-American, 2016 NCCAA Student-Athlete of the Week [x2] |2017: Singles Record: 15-13, Doubles Record: 13-16 |
- Landon Ridpath, Jr. | 2016 UMAC Player of the Week, 2016 UMAC All-Conference, 2017 UMAC All-Conference | 2017: Singles Record: 15-14, Doubles Record: 13-15 |
- Joshua Kimball, Sr. | 2015 UMAC Player of the Week, 2015 UMAC All-Conference, 2015 UMAC Academic All-Conference, 2015 UMAC Individual Sportsmanship Award Winner, 2016 UMAC All-Conference, 2016 UMAC Academic All-Conference, 2016 UMAC Individual Sportsmanship Award Winner, 2017 UMAC All-Conference, 2017 UMAC Academic All-Conference, 2017 UMAC Individual Sportsmanship Award Winner | 2017 NCCAA All-North Central Region Scholar Athlete, 2015 NCCAA Student-Athlete of the Week | 2017: Singles Record: 10-17, Doubles Record: 11-16 |
- Cameron Fair, Jr. | 2016 UMAC Player of the Week, 2016 UMAC Academic All-Conference, 2017 UMAC Academic All-Conference | 2017: Singles Record: 8-20, Doubles Record: 10-18 |
University of Wisconsin-Superior
Kolin Dean | 1st season |
Need to Know
This will be the inaugural season for Wisconsin-Superior men’s tennis.