INDIANAPOLIS – For the league’s coaches, it was too close of a call at the top with two programs tied for lead position in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour that came out on Wednesday.
Tiffin and Findlay came away with 22 points each in the balloting, tying for the second preseason coaches poll this spring (women’s lacrosse). The defending conference champion Dragons had three first-place votes to the Oilers’ two.
Tiffin defeated Findlay in last year’s conference championship matchup by a final score of 4-2, the Dragons’ first endeavor towards a league title as a Great Midwest member institution.
Hillsdale received the other first-place vote the balloting and checked in at third. Walsh was fourth followed by Cedarville and Kentucky Wesleyan rounding out the preseason coaches poll, respectively.
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) has Tiffin’s men’s program ranked 10th in the Midwest Region.
Findlay is paced by reigning Great Midwest Player of the Year Tomas Kmetko, currently ranked 17th in the ITA Midwest Region individual rankings. Also on the rankings is Walsh’s Jacob Riglewski, starting the spring at No. 20.
In the ITA doubles rankings, Hillsdale’s Charlie Adams and Ivanhoe Lissanevitch are ranked ninth among top pairings in the Midwest Region. The next singles and doubles rakings will be published by the ITA on Wednesday, March 18.
The top four teams in the conference standings will head down to Owensboro where Kentucky Wesleyan will once against host the Great Midwest Championship tournament for 2020.
The spring portion of the 2019-20 season is already underway with several teams competing against regional competition over the past weekend. Most schools competed at the ITA Regionals in the fall season to help prepare for the longer spring schedule.
Great Midwest Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
| School |
Points |
| t1. Tiffin (3 first-place votes) |
22 |
| t1. Findlay (2 first-place votes) |
22 |
| 3. Hillsdale (1 first-place vote) |
19 |
| 4. Walsh |
13 |
| 5. Cedarville |
9 |
| 6. Kentucky Wesleyan |
5 |