South Atlantic Conference Release

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Preceding the 2020 spring season, Carson-Newman men's tennis was selected eighth in the South Atlantic Conference preseason poll, as announced by the league Thursday.

"I'm pleased with where it (the ranking) is," head coach Jim Frederick said. "We're going to surprise some people with the guys."

Finishing with 61 votes, C-N improved its standing from last year's preseason poll by two positions and 29 points. The Eagles went on to finish 11^th in the SAC in 2019 with a 3-17 record overall, respectively.

Two schools earned first-place votes in the preseason poll with Wingate selected first, racking up 11 first-place votes for a total of 132 points. Entering into the season, the Bulldogs are ranked fourth in the nation by the ITA.

Queens checks in at second place with a sole first-place nomination and a total of 119 points. The Royals also earned a top-25 spot in the nation's preseason poll by the ITA, landing at 23^rd.

Tusculum finishes in third place in the preseason poll and received votes in the national ITF rankings to begin the year.

Lenoir-Rhyne, Anderson and Newberry round out the top-6.

Five of the 10 schools in the Oracle/ITA regional rankings are members of the SAC, with the top-5 in the preseason poll all landing spots in the top-10 of the region.

Frederick spoke to the building of his team from the bottom up heading into this year, something that many schools in the conference have also done to ensure team success.

"They (top SAC schools) go from both ends, they have good top players at No. 1 and 2 (singles) and they have good No. 5 and 6 players," Frederick said. "They win a lot at the top and the bottom. You win matches at this level by winning the doubles (point) and winning at the bottom because the top is so difficult, so competitive."

The season kicks off Jan. 31 at 6 p.m. against Martin Methodist at Knoxville Racquet Club.

2020 SAC Men's Tennis Preseason Poll