Eagles extrapolated 8th in SAC preseason poll
With just over a week before the 2021 season serves off, Carson-Newman men's tennis were extrapolated as eighth in the South Atlantic Conference preseason poll, as announced by the league Thursday.
South Atlantic Conference Release
Video: Jim Frederick Interview
ROCK HILL, S.C. – With just over a week before the 2021 season serves off, Carson-Newman men's tennis were extrapolated as eighth in the South Atlantic Conference preseason poll, as announced by the league Thursday.
"We have different challenges for the men's team heading into this season, especially losing two of our best players for the season due to multiple reasons," head coach Jim Frederick said. "We're just going to have everybody step up and play a spot up from where they were last year."
Finishing with 81 votes, C-N kept their standing steady as they remain at the eighth spot but improve their ranking with 20 additional points. The Eagles went on to finish 12th in the SAC in 2019 with a 5-5 record overall, respectively.
Two schools earned first-place votes in the preseason poll with Wingate selected first, racking up 10 first-place votes for a total of 154 points. At the end of the 2019 season, the Bulldogs held a 7-2 overall record, best in the SAC. Queens checks in at second place with three first-place nomination and a total of 145 points. For their 2019 season, the Royals finished 5-0, right behind the previously mentioned Bulldogs. There is a tie in the preseason polls for third place as both Anderson and Lenoir-Rhyne came in with a total of 122 points. Tusculum and Lincoln Memorial round out the top-6 for men's tennis.
Frederick spoke about the level of competition his team will see as the Eagles prepare to tackle a season which no one can anticipate what comes next.
"This is one of the best Division II conferences in all the country. Just look at last year when seven of the teams were nationally ranked," Frederick said. "Last year with the guys, we had beaten a top-10 and top-20 team in the country, so we were right where we needed to be prior to the season being shut down. We've taken a step back with all the challenges we have this year, so we just have to step up and play our best in terms of talent."
The Eagles serve up their 2021 season on Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. against Union (Ky.) at the Knoxville Racquet Club.
2021 SAC Men's Tennis Preseason Poll
|
Rank |
School |
Points (1st place votes) |
|
1 |
Wingate |
154 (10) |
|
2 |
Queens |
145 (3) |
|
T-3 |
Anderson |
122 |
|
T-3 |
Lenoir-Rhyne |
122 |
|
5 |
Tusculum |
117 |
|
6 |
Lincoln Memorial |
89 |
|
7 |
Limestone |
84 |
|
8 |
Carson-Newman |
81 |
|
9 |
Newberry |
74 |
|
10 |
Coker |
62 |
|
11 |
Catawba |
55 |
|
12 |
Mars Hill |
38 |
|
13 |
UVA Wise |
27 |
-CN-
