INDIANAPOLIS – The University of Indianapolis and Drury University men's tennis teams have again been selected to win the East and West Divisions, respectively, for the upcoming 2020 Great Lakes Valley Conference season, it was announced by the Conference office Thursday.
The GLVC Men's Tennis Preseason Poll was voted on by the league head coaches and ranks eight teams in the East and six squads in the West as 14 of the 16 member schools sponsor the sport.
Indianapolis (17-6, 5-0 GLVC in 2019) was chosen as the favorite to repeat as the East champions with 104 total points, earning 13 of the 14 possible first-place votes, as Conference policy prohibits coaches from casting a vote for their own team. The Greyhounds enter 2020 also ranked 12th nationally by the ITA/Oracle Preseason Poll, fresh off earning their fourth consecutive GLVC Championship and third-straight NCAA Midwest sub-Regional title, as well as a trip to the NCAA Nationals Round of 16. Reigning GLVC Coach of the Year, Malik Tabet, will mentor the Hounds for his seventh season with a pair of All-GLVC performers returning to his lineup in juniors Dario Huber and Renato Lima, as well as the GLVC Freshman of the Year Maximilian Witthaus Rebolledo.
Drury went 6-0 in GLVC play last season to win the division and 17-6 overall, earning seven first-place votes and 72 points for its sixth-straight top selection in the West preseason. The Panthers were swept by UIndy in the GLVC Tournament finals a year ago but earned their 20th-straight berth to the NCAA Tournament where they won another Midwest sub-Regional championship to advance to the NCAA Nationals. In his 15th-year as head coach, Jarrod Smith will guide the team in 2020, returning a trio of All-GLVC honorees in unanimous senior Nico Hadeler, who was also voted GLVC Player of the Year, as well as juniors Augustin Diot and Gregor Kokalj. Drury also begins in a tie for No. 20 in the ITA preseason.
Lewis University was the next closest vote getter behind UIndy in the East Division poll, garnering 88 points and the other first-place vote. Maryville University – which switches to the East Division this season – was next with 70 points in third, while the University of Illinois Springfield followed in fourth with 59 points. The University of Southern Indiana was only one point behind UIS with 58 for fifth, while league newcomer Lindenwood University earned 43 points to be picked sixth. Rounding out the eight-team field is McKendree University (39) in seventh and Bellarmine University (35) in eighth.
New Conference member Southwest Baptist University earned the other half of the first-place votes in the West and 70 points – just two behind Drury – for second in the poll. The Bearcats had a stellar 2019 campaign that saw them garner a 19-3 overall record, Regular Season MIAA acclaim after a 4-0 clip, a second-straight MIAA tournament title, and a NCAA Central Regional trophy to go with a visit to the semifinals of the NCAA National Championship. They also were ranked 13th nationally by the ITA.
The University of Missouri-St. Louis tallied 54 points and third position in the West Division and welcomes back three-time All-GLVC senior Ben-Hur Kasprzak. Rockhurst University (42) was fourth, William Jewell College (28) claimed fifth, and Quincy University (22) came in at No. 6 to complete the field of six.
The 2020 GLVC Men's Tennis Championship Tournament will be held at the Cooper Tennis Complex from April 24-26 in Springfield, Mo.
The complete 2020 GLVC Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches Poll follows below.
| 2020 GLVC MEN'S TENNIS PRESEASON POLL – EAST DIVISION |
| Place |
School |
Points (First-Place Votes) |
| 1 |
Indianapolis |
104 (13) |
| 2 |
Lewis |
88 (1) |
| 3 |
Maryville |
70 |
| 4 |
Illinois Springfield |
59 |
| 5 |
Southern Indiana |
58 |
| 6 |
Lindenwood |
43 |
| 7 |
McKendree |
39 |
| 8 |
Bellarmine |
35 |
| 2020 GLVC MEN'S TENNIS PRESEASON POLL – WEST DIVISION |
| Place |
School |
Points (First-Place Votes) |
| 1 |
Drury |
72 (7) |
| 2 |
Southwest Baptist |
70 (7) |
| 3 |
Missouri-St. Louis |
54 |
| 4 |
Rockhurst |
42 |
| 5 |
William Jewell |
28 |
| 6 |
Quincy |
22 |