INDIANAPOLIS- The 2017 and 2018 GLVC Men's Tennis Championship Tournament champion #9 UIndy was again picked to top the East Division of the conference, announced Friday afternoon in the 2019 edition of the GLVC Men's Tennis Coaches Preseason Poll.
The GLVC Men's Tennis Preseason Poll was voted on by the league head coaches and ranks six teams in the East and seven squads in the West as 13 of the 14 member schools sponsor the sport.
Indianapolis (26-3, 5-0 GLVC in 2018) earned 11 of the 12 possible first-place votes, as Conference policy prohibits coaches from casting a vote for their own team, and was chosen as the favorite to repeat as the East champions with 71 total points. The Greyhounds enter 2019 fresh off earning their third consecutive GLVC Championship and welcome back reigning GLVC Freshman of the Year
Renato Lima, who was also an All-GLVC selection. Reigning GLVC Coach of the Year
Malik Tabet will mentor the group for his sixth season after guiding the 2018 team to their ninth NCAA Tournament bid where they advanced to the semifinals of the postseason event, which marked the first two NCAA Championships wins in program history.
Lewis University was the next closest vote getter behind UIndy in the East Division poll, garnering 62 points and the other two first-place votes. University of Illinois Springfield was next with 42 points in third, while University of Southern Indiana was close behind in fourth with 40 points. McKendree University (31) and Bellarmine University (21) finished fifth and sixth, respectively, to round out the six-team field.
Drury went 6-0 in GLVC play last season to win the division and 21-5 overall, earning 11 first-place votes and 83 points for its fifth-straight West Division top selection in the preseason. The Panthers fell to UIndy in the GLVC finals a year ago but earned their 19th-straight berth to the NCAA Tournament where they made a repeat run to the championship quarterfinals. In his 14th-year as head coach, Jarrod Smith will guide the team in 2019 with the return of two-time All-GLVC honoree Nico Hadeler in the lineup.
The 2019 GLVC Men's Tennis Championship Tournament will be held at the Center Grove High School from April 19-21 in Indianapolis, Ind.
The complete 2019 GLVC Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches Poll follows below.
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2019 GLVC Men's Tennis Preseason Poll
EAST DIVISION
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Place
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School
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Points (First-Place Votes)
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1
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Indianapolis
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71 (11)
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2
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Lewis
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62 (2)
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3
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Illinois Springfield
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42
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4
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Southern Indiana
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40
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5
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McKendree
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31
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6
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Bellarmine
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21
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2019 GLVC Men's Tennis Preseason Poll
WEST DIVISION
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Place
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School
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Points (First-Place Votes)
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1
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Drury
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83 (11)
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2
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Missouri-St. Louis
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72 (1)
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3
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Maryville
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60 (1)
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4
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Rockhurst
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54
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5
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Quincy
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38
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6
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William Jewell
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28
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7
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Truman State
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22
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