Men's Tennis Tabbed Sixth In Preseason Coaches' Poll
Warriors picked for highest finish in program history
January 22, 2013
Sophomore Lee JohnsonWAUKESHA, Wis. – The Wisconsin Lutheran College men’s tennis team has been tabbed for a sixth-place finish in the Northern Athletics Conference, according to the 2013 preseason poll voted on by the league’s 10 head coaches which was released Tuesday.
Wisconsin Lutheran, which set a school record for most wins in a season in 2012, earned 46 points in the poll for the sixth-place position. WLC (2-8, 2-7 NAC) returns seven letterwinners from last season’s team, including the 2012 NAC Freshman of the Year and All-NAC Singles Team selection, Lee Johnson (Hales Corners, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran). The sixth-place standing in the preseason poll is the highest the Warriors have been predicted, and is four places higher than last year when WLC was slotted 10th.
Defending conference champion Concordia Wisconsin (14-11, 9-0 NAC) was the coaches pick to win the conference crown in 2013. The Falcons collected 92 poll points and half of the first-place votes in the poll, while Edgewood (9-19, 7-2 NAC) received the remaining half of the top votes and 87 points for the second-place slot.
Last season's runner-up, MSOE (9-10, 8-1 NAC) was tabbed third with 77, Aurora (7-9, 6-3 NAC) was fourth with 75, and Dominican (6-7, 5-4 NAC) rounded out the top half of the poll with 57 points.
WLC, Concordia Chicago (4-9, 4-5 NAC), Marian (3-7, 3-6 NAC), Rockford (1-9, 1-8 NAC), and Lakeland (0-9, 0-9 NAC) filled out the bottom half of the 10-team poll.
The league's six-team tournament will open April 30 on the site of the third and fourth-seeded teams, while the final two rounds will take place Saturday, May 4, at Kohler Sports Core. The tournament champion receives the NAC's automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA III Men's Tennis Championship Tournament.
Wisconsin Lutheran begins its 2013 season February 8 when it hosts St. Mary’s (Minn.) in a non-conference matchup at Moreland Park Tennis Center in New Berlin, Wis. WLC will open conference play March 30 with a pair of home matches against Marian and Edgewood at the Princeton Club in New Berlin, Wis.
| 2013 NAC Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Concordia Wisconsin (5) | 92 |
| 2. | Edgewood (5) | 87 |
| 3. | MSOE | 77 |
| 4. | Aurora | 75 |
| 5. | Dominican | 57 |
| 6. | Wisconsin Lutheran | 46 |
| 7. | Concordia Chicago | 42 |
| 8. | Marian | 33 |
| 9. | Rockford | 21 |
| 10. | Lakeland | 20 |
First-place votes in parentheses
