2017 Northwest Conference Men’s Tennis Pre-Season Coaches’ Poll
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TEAM
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1STS
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PTS
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‘16 NWC
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’16 ALL
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Whitman College
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(8)
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72
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11-1
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19-9
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|
Lewis & Clark College
|
(1)
|
57
|
10-2
|
13-8
|
|
Pacific University (Ore.)
|
|
50
|
11-1
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18-4
|
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George Fox University
|
|
43
|
6-6
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9-10
|
|
Whitworth University
|
|
32
|
8-4
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12-8
|
|
Linfield College
|
|
29
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3-9
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4-12
|
|
Pacific Lutheran University
|
|
26
|
1-11
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1-15
|
|
Willamette University
|
|
14
|
3-9
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3-10
|
|
University of Puget Sound
|
|
10
|
1-11
|
1-11
|
(Points awarded on a 9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Coaches could not vote on their own teams.
NWC MEN’S TENNIS POLL: Whitman Expected to Continue Court Dominance in 2017
HILLSBORO, Ore. – For 11 straight years, Whitman College has dominated the men’s tennis landscape in the Northwest Conference, and that trend is expected to continue in 2017 as the Blues have been named the strong NWC favorite once again in a pre-season poll of the league’s nine coaches as announced by the conference office Thursday afternoon.
The Blues received all eight of the first-place votes for which they were eligible (coaches were not permitted to vote on their own teams) and a total 72 points. The other first-place vote went to Lewis & Clark College, which came in second in the balloting with 57 points.
Whitman went 19-9 overall last year and tied for the best dual-match record in the NWC with an 11-1 mark. The Blues went on to defeat Whitworth University and Pacific University (Ore.) in the NWC Tournament, their 11th straight tournament title, before falling to the University of Texas-Tyler in the NCAA Division III West Regional. Whitman was ranked No. 24 in the final national rankings by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, and holds that spot in the ITA rankings as the spring season approaches.
Leading the Blues’ bid to make it 12 titles in a row is NCAA/ITA All-American Zach Hewlin (Jr.), who won three matches in the NCAA singles championships before being eliminated in the national semifinals. Hewlin, the NWC Player of the Year, will be joined again by All-NWC First Team selection Garry Ho (Jr.) and a pair of Second Teamers in Petar Jivkov (Sr.) and Chase Friedman (Jr.). Veteran coach Jeff Northam, who is now in his 17th season at his alma mater, must replace ITA All-American Phillip Locklear, now an assistant coach with the program.
Lewis & Clark posted a 13-8 overall record after going 10-2 in conference play in 2016, including a win over Whitman that handed the Blues their first loss to an NWC opponent in nine years. The Pioneers, who fell to Pacific in the NWC Tournament semifinals, were ranked No. 32 in the final ITA national rankings. Lewis & Clark enters the spring ranked No. 32 by the ITA.
The Pios lost All-NWC Second Teamers Kevin Ross and Harrison Collins, but return a pair of All-Conference performers in Raed Attia (So., First Team) and Gordon Barrows (Jr., Second Team) in an effort to end Whitman’s run. Patrick Dreves, the 2016 NWC Coach of the Year, is in his sixth season at Lewis & Clark.
Pacific, which went 18-4 overall, setting a school record for wins, and 11-1 in the conference, picked up 50 points to come in third in the poll. The Boxers, who beat Lewis & Clark in the NWC Tournament semifinals before falling to Whitman in the title match, were ranked No. 31 in the final ITA standings, and are No. 31 in the ITA rankings heading into the spring.
The Boxers are a veteran squad, bringing back All-NWC First Team selection Clark Wininger (Sr.) and Second Team choice Reuben Mulhern (Sr.). A replacement for All-NWC First Team performer Brennan Faith must be found, however. Coach Brian Jackson is now in his 10th season as the director of the program at Pacific.
Coming in fourth in the poll with 43 points was George Fox University, which was 9-10 overall and 6-6 in the conference last year. Catching the coaches’ attention was a solid showing by the Bruins in the 2016 Fall ITA Pacific Northwest Regional in which Spencer Watanabe (Sr.) won the singles, then teamed with Alex Namba (Fr.) to win the doubles to earn ITA All-America honors. Watanabe was All-NWC First Team last season. Coach Neal Ninteman, now in his eighth season with the Bruins, must replace Second Team selection Chris Lilley.
Fifth in the polls with 32 points was Whitworth, which went 12-8 overall and 8-4 in the NWC before falling to Whitman in the semifinals of the NWC Tournament. The Pirates graduated All-NWC First Teamer Drew Brigham and Second Teamer Blake Miller, and will look to Shane Sandlin (Sr.) for leadership in an effort to return to the playoffs. Coach Mike Shanks is in his 17th season with the Pirates.
Linfield College edged Pacific Lutheran University for the sixth spot in the poll, 29 points to 26. The Wildcats are coming off a 4-12 season overall and a 3-9 record in conference play. Jacob Mangan (So.) and Ben McNair (Sr.) were the ‘Cats’ top winners last year and provide a solid nucleus around which to build an improving program. Ben Belletto, who coached ranked teams for seven consecutive years at Whittier College and Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, is in his second season at Linfield.
Pacific Lutheran went 1-15 overall and 1-11 in the conference last year, but will look to climb in the standings behind No. 1 player James Okubo (Sr.) and top winner Chan Thourk (Jr.). The Lutes are under the direction of John Cassens, a former NCAA Division I coach at Seattle University who is now in his third season at PLU.
Willamette University collected 14 points for eighth place in the poll after posting a 3-10 overall mark in 2016 and a 3-9 record in the conference. Leading the Bearcats this spring will be Aaron Schechter (So.) and Derek Lund (Jr.), while Gunnar Lee (Sr.) returns to the squad after sitting out last year to complete a degree in biochemistry. Rick Wood, a former NAIA National Tournament participant, is in his fifth season at his alma mater.
The University of Puget Sound received 10 points in placing ninth in the poll. The Loggers, who went 1-11 last year, all in conference play, will call upon Chet Selis (Jr.) and Chris Severt (Sr.) to lead the way in an effort to climb in the league standings. Lyle McIntosh, a former state high school championship coach, is now in his second season at UPS.
The spring season gets under way this Saturday, Jan. 21, with three matches. Whitman plays a pair of split-squad matches, with one group at Boise State University and the other at home against the University of Idaho, while Willamette will take on Portland State University at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver, Wash. The first NWC match takes place a week later on Sunday, Jan. 29, with Willamette hosting Lewis & Clark.
The NWC will use a round-robin-and-a-half schedule for the final time this season before turning to a single round-robin next year. Each team will play four conference opponents once and the other four conference teams twice, with a single point being awarded for the results against each opponent for a total of seven points that will determine the four teams to make the Northwest Conference Tournament. If the result against an opponent that is played twice is a split, then the team winning the most sets in the combined matches will get the point.
The NWC Tournament, which determines the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs, is set for Saturday-Sunday, Apr. 22-23. The team with the most points will host the single-elimination tournament, with #1 vs. #4 and #2 vs. #3 as the semifinal matchups.
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