Wingate Tops SAC Men’s Tennis Preseason Poll

ROCK HILL, S.C. – The SAC's head men's tennis coaches have voted Wingate as the favorite to win the 2014 conference title, it was announced by the league office on Thursday.

Wingate tied for third in the SAC standings at 7-2 last season, finishing 16-11 overall. The Bulldogs received five of the possible 12 first-place votes in the preseason poll.

2013 SAC co-regular season champion Tusculum is second in the poll, while last year's Food Lion SAC Tournament champion Lincoln Memorial is third. Tusculum earned three first-place votes in the poll, while LMU received two.

Anderson, which split the SAC title with Tusculum last season, is fourth in the preseason poll, followed by No. 5 Coker, which received the final two first-place votes.

Newberry is sixth in the poll, followed by No. 7 Queens, No. 8 Catawba, No. 9 Mars Hill, No. 10 Carson-Newman, No. 11 Brevard and No. 12 Lenoir-Rhyne.

The 2014 SAC men's tennis preseason All-Conference Team is headlined by the conference's defending Player of the Year, Lukas Winkelmann of Tusculum. He is joined on the singles First Team by teammates Jonas Winkelmann and 2013 SAC Freshman of the Year Nicolas Planchard, Newberry's Vinicius Botelho, LMU's Marcello Alvim and Carson-Newman's Juan Sebastian Perez.

Making up the first-team doubles tandems are Botelho and Michael Saunders of Newberry, Planchard and Lukas Winkelmann of Tusculum, and Alvim and Will Sparks of LMU.

Mars Hill's Euquerio Guerrero, Coker's Andre Stab, Queens' Andre Bafume, Wingate's Sebastian Hall, Newberry's Fernando Espana and LMU's Guilherme Rocha each earned spots on the singles Second Team. They are joined as second-team honorees by the doubles tandems of Martin Moncayo and William Marrafao of Coker, John Taylor and Jonas Winkelmann of Tusculum, and Juan Carracedo and Mateo Rivas of Anderson.

The 2014 Food Lion SAC Tennis Championship is scheduled for April 16-18 at the Rock Hill Tennis Center in Rock Hill, S.C.

2014 SAC Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll

2014 SAC Men's Tennis Preseason All-Conference Team

First Team Singles

Lukas Winkelmann, TC

Jonas Winkelmann, TC

Nicolas Planchard, TC

Vinicius Botelho, NEW

Marcelo Alvim, LMU

Juan Sebastian Perez, C-N

First Team Doubles

Vinicius Botelho/Michael Saunders, NEW

Lukas Winkelmann/Nicolas Planchard, TC

Will Sparks/Marcelo Alvim, LMU

Second Team Singles

Euquerio Guerrero, MHU

Andre Staab, COK

Andre Bafume, QU

Sebastian Hall, WU

Fernando Espana, NEW

Guilherme Rocha, LMU

Second Team Doubles

William Marrafao/Martin Moncayo, COK

John Taylor/Jonas Winkelmann, TC

Juan Carracedo/Mateo Rivas, AU