INDIANAPOLIS- With nine programs for men and 10 programs for the women, Tiffin received the most votes on both sides in the 2024 Great Midwest Men’s and Women’s Tennis Preseason Coaches Polls presented by Under Armour, as released on Thursday afternoon.
 
The Tiffin men are coming off their second straight G-MAC championship title, winning in 2022 and again in 2023. At the helm of Tiffin’s success is graduate student Ruben Fonga, who was voted Great Midwest Player of the Year last season. Fonga went 22-2 in singles play and went on to earn All-American honors. He finished the 2023 season ranked No. 2 in singles play. Michael Gurtner, a first-team selection, also returns for the Dragons. Gurtner is coming off a season where he went 10-7 in singles play and 15-5 in doubles. Matthew Telford and Matthew Weaver are also top-returners for head coach Phil Conley.
 
Findlay received 61 points, including one first-place vote. Luigi Bove is the top-returner for the Oilers after being named second-team all-conference last season.
 
Hillsdale was voted third followed by Walsh in fourth. Tyler Conrad, a first-team all-conference honoree returns for the Chargers while the Freshman of the Year Phillip Carstensen returns for the Cavaliers.
 
Ashland, Northwood, Cedarville, Thomas More, and Ketnucky Wesleyan round out the men’s preseason poll.
 
On the women’s side, the Dragons were also favored with 90 points and eight first-place votes. Tiffin won the regular season with an overall record of 17-5 and went 8-0 in the conference. The Dragons are led by a pair of junior standouts in Carina Avram and Ana Lepinay, who were both voted to the first-team all-conference list. Avram went 13-9 in singles, while Lepinay registered a singles record of  15-7. The duo finished the 2023 season with a doubles record of 14-9 and was ranked No. 31 in the nation.
 
Findlay earned two first-place votes and totaled 83 points in the preseason poll. The Oilers are coming off their first G-MAC tennis title and return the Freshman of the Year in Anamarija Kovacevic who finished last season with a 17-3 singles record. Emily Hadler also returns the reigning champs. Hadler was voted first-team all-conference and registered a singles record of 12-7.
 
All-conference Junior Rafaella Platsiota returns for Northwood, who was predicted to finish third in the coaches poll.
 
Hillsdale and Walsh were voted fourth and fifth, followed by Ashland in sixth place.
 
Cedarville, Thomas More, Kentucky Wesleyan, and Ursuline round out the coaches poll on the women’s side, respectively.

School	Points
1. Tiffin (8)	73
2. Findlay (1)	61
3. Hillsdale	59
4. Walsh	53
5. Ashland	41
6. Northwood	39
7. Cedarville	32
8. Thomas More	30
9. Kentucky Wesleyan	17

 

School	Points
1. Tiffin (8)	90
2. Findlay (2)	83
3. Northwood	70
4. Hillsdale	68
5. Walsh	62
6. Ashland	53
7. Cedarville	41
8. Thomas More	35
9. Kentucky Wesleyan	27
10. Ursuline	22