ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) released the 2024 Men’s Tennis Preseason Coaches Poll on Thursday with the University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets and Greenville University Panthers being predicted to finish atop the North and South Divisions, respectively. The poll is voted on by all the head coaches in the conference.
The defending UMAC Tournament champion Panthers led the South Division poll with 16 points and collected four first-place votes. Last season, Greenville went 22-8 overall and was undefeated in conference play. The Panthers took down the University of Northwestern Eagles 5-1 in the opening round of the postseason and went on to defeat Wisconsin-Superior 5-1 to win the 2023 UMAC Tournament championship. Andres Sanchez returns for Greenville this season after leading the Panthers to the conference championship last year. The junior went 17-8 at No. 1 singles and 18-8 at No. 1 doubles to earn the 2023 UMAC South Division Player of the Year award.
Wisconsin-Superior led the North Division poll with 16 points and four first-place votes. The Yellowjackets finished the 2023 season with a 23-4 overall record and a perfect 10-0 conference record. UWS won their semifinal match 5-1 over Principia College in the UMAC Tournament before falling to Greenville in the championship match. The Yellowjackets head into the 2024 season with the reigning UMAC North Division Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year: Igor Guetten Chaves. As a freshman in 2023, Guetten Chaves went 14-5 in singles and 16-8 in doubles for Wisconsin-Superior, and looks to build upon that success heading into his sophomore season.
Principia placed second in the South Division preseason poll with 13 points and a first-place vote. The Panthers were 11-9 overall last season with a 2-1 record in conference contests. Principia competed in the semifinal round of the UMAC Tournament, falling 5-1 to the Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets. The 2023 UMAC South Division Rookie of the Year Ernesto Botero returns for the Panthers this spring. The sophomore went 13-6 in singles and won eight doubles matches last season.
The Northwestern Eagles took the second-place spot in the North Division with 13 total points and a first-place vote. UNW was 16-11 overall last season with an 8-2 UMAC record. The Eagles competed in the 2023 UMAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed from the North Division and fell 5-1 to the eventual champions: Greenville. This season, Stewart Morrell returns for his senior season to lead Northwestern. The three-time First Team All-UMAC player was 14-11 in singles and 18-5 in doubles last year for the Eagles.
The Webster University Gorloks were third in the South Division poll with nine points. In 2023, the Gorloks finished 12-14 overall with a 1-2 UMAC record. Matt Birchmeier returns for his senior season after winning 10 singles matches and going 16-9 in doubles play for Webster last season.
The Bethany Lutheran College Vikings placed third in the North Division preseason poll with 10 points. Last year, BLC went 8-9 with a 6-4 UMAC record. First Team All-Conference player Marcos Borobia Arias returns to Bethany Lutheran for his senior season after going 12-4 in both singles and doubles last season.
At the close of the regular season, the top two teams in both the North and South divisions will compete in the UMAC Tournament. The four-team conference postseason tournament, hosted at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in St. Louis, Missouri this season, begins on Friday, May 3 with the semifinal contests and wraps up with the championship round on Saturday, May 4. The UMAC Tournament champion will receive the conference's automatic qualifying bid to compete in the 2024 NCAA DIII Men's Tennis Championship.
2024 UMAC Men's Tennis Preseason Poll
NORTH DIVISION
1. Wisconsin-Superior | 16 (4)
2. Northwestern | 13 (1)
3. Bethany Lutheran | 10
4. Martin Luther | 6
5. Crown | 5
SOUTH DIVISION
1. Greenville | 16 (4)
2. Principia | 13 (1)
3. Webster | 9
4. Mississippi | 8
5. Westminster | 4
(#) Number of First-Place Votes
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NORTH DIVISION
1. University of Wisconsin-Superior
CeeJay Schaffner | 5th Season |
2023 Season
10-0 UMAC, 23-4 Overall | 1st |
Top Returners
Igor Guetten Chaves, So. | 2023 UMAC POY | 5x UMAC POW | 2023: Singles – 14-5, Doubles Record – 16-8 |
Ren Kurachi, So. | 2023 All-UMAC First Team | 2023: Singles – 15-7, Doubles – 15-9 |
Jacob Zacharias, Sr. | 2023 All-UMAC Second Team | UMAC All-Sportsmanship | 2023: Singles – 15-7, Doubles – 19-5 |
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2. University of Northwestern
Matt Swigart | 12
th Season |
2023 Season
8-2 UMAC, 16-11 Overall | 2
nd |
Top Returners
Stewart Morrell, Senior | 3x First Team All-UMAC, 3x Academic All-UMAC, 7x UMAC Player of the Week | 2023: 14-11 (Singles), 18-5 (Doubles) |
Jacob Weddle, Junior | 2022 First Team All-UMAC, 2023 Second Team All-UMAC, 2023 Academic All-UMAC, 2x UMAC Player of the Week | 2023: 16-7 (Singles), 19-6 (Doubles) |
Griffen Jarchow, Sophomore | 2023 Second Team All-UMAC, 2023 Academic All-UMAC | 2023: 15-10 (Singles), 9-9 (Doubles) |
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3. Bethany Lutheran College
Adie Harstad | 21
st Season (first since 2012) |
2023 Season
6-4 UMAC, 8-9 Overall | 3
rd |
Top Returners
Marcos Borobia Arias, senior | All-Conference First Team | 12-4 singles, 12-4 doubles
Heitor Damaso, senior | All-Conference Second Team | 9-7 singles, 12-4 doubles
Caue Ribeiro, junior | 6-10 singles, 5-11 doubles
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4. Martin Luther College
Paul Koelpin | 2
nd Season |
2023 Season
4-6 UMAC, 4-10 Overall | 4
th |
Top Returners
Johannes Bourman, Sophomore | 2023: Singles: 3-8, Doubles: 2-10|
Brian Friesenegger, Senior | 2023: Singles: 5-7, Doubles: 4-9|
Matthew Koelpin, Sophomore | 2023: Singles: 6-7, Doubles: 4-9|
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5. Crown College
Amanda McDonald | 2
nd Season |
2023 Season
1-9 UMAC, 1-11 Overall | 6
th |
Top Returners
David Comings, Sophomore | 2023: Singles – 4-7, Doubles – 3-9 |
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SOUTH DIVISION
1. Greenville University
Brett Brannon | 23
rd Season |
2023 Season
3-0 UMAC, 22-8 Overall | 1
st |
Top Returners
Andres Sanchez, Jr. | UMAC South Player of the Year | 2023: 17-7 Record |
Rafa Rodriguez, Jr. | UMAC South First Team All-Conference | 2023: 17-7 Record |
Luke Motsinger, Sr. | UMAC South Second Team All-Conference | 2023: 18-5 Record |
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2. Principia College
Rusty Jones | 9
th Season |
2023 Season
2-1 UMAC, 11-9 Overall | 3
rd |
Top Returners
Ernesto Diaz, So. | UMAC 2023 Freshman of the Year, 1
st Team All-Conference | 2023: 13-6 Singles Record, 8-12 Doubles Record |
Jesus Soto Bossa, So. | 2023: 7-4 Singles Record, 8-4 Doubles Record |
Rafter Sprague, Sr. | 2023: 11-7 Singles Record, 8-11 Doubles Record |
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3. Webster University
John Black | 4
th Season |
2023 Season
2-2 UMAC, 12-14 Overall | 3
rd |
Top Returners
Matt Birchmeier, Sr. | 2023: 10-9 Singles, 16-9 Doubles
Carson Fisher, Jr. | 2023: 5-17 Singles, 9-16 Doubles
Baird McDaniel, Jr. | 2023: 4-8 Singles, 0-0 Doubles
Jack Forlenza ,Jr. | 2023: 4-2 singles, 4-2 doubles
Need to Know
2-3 after fall season
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4. Westminster College
Samantha Pennington | 1
st Season |
2023 Season
0-3 UMAC, 0-6 Overall | 4
th |
Top Returner
Cooper Pennington, Year 4
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5. Mississippi University for Women
Daniel L Talley | 4
th Season |
2023 Season
1-13 Overall | NA |
Top Returners
Luke Suggs, So. | 2023: Singles 2-11, Doubles 1-12 |
Sam Yarborough, Sr. | 2023: Singles 1-12, Doubles 1-12 Record |
Allen Lewis, Sr. | 2023: Singles 0-13, Doubles 0-13 |
Need to Know
Our first year in the UMAC
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