|
Rk.
|
Team (1st)
|
Pts.
|
’17 Rec. (NWC)
|
|
1.
|
Whitman (8)
|
72
|
24-7 (12-0)
|
|
2.
|
Lewis & Clark (1)
|
56
|
14-5 (11-1)
|
|
3.
|
George Fox
|
48
|
9-9 (7-5)
|
|
4.
|
Pacific (Ore.)
|
47
|
11-8 (8-4)
|
|
5.
|
Linfield
|
34
|
6-12 (5-7)
|
|
6.
|
Whitworth
|
31
|
6-11 (6-6)
|
|
7.
|
Pacific Lutheran
|
21
|
3-13 (3-9)
|
|
8.
|
Willamette
|
14
|
2-12 (2-10)
|
|
9.
|
Puget Sound
|
10
|
0-14 (0-12)
|
(Points awarded on an 9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Coaches could not vote for their own teams.)
HILLSBORO, Ore. — The Whitman Blues were picked to win a record-setting 11th straight Northwest Conference men’s tennis crown, according to a poll of the nine conference head coaches.
The Blues tied the Northwest Conference record with 10-straight NWC Tournament titles a season ago, matching a 10-year streak by Pacific Lutheran from 1976-85.
Whitman received the maximum available, eight first-place votes, and 72 total points in the preseason poll. The No. 14 team in the nation, according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, Whitman returns two-time NWC Player of the Year Zach Hewlin. The ITA ranks Whitman as the No. 4 team in the West Region.
Lewis & Clark earned the final first-place vote and was predicted to finish second with 56 points. The Pioneers are ranked No. 7 in the West Region according to the ITA and returns junior Raed Attia, a 2017 First Team All-NWC honoree.
Picked third was George Fox with 48 points. The Bruins will be led in 2018 by senior Spencer Watanabe. A three-time First Team All-NWC selection, Watanabe earned his third ITA All-American honor in the fall after winning his second-straight Northwest Regional singles title.
Pacific (Ore.) was predicted to finish fourth with 47 points. The ITA ranks the Boxers as the No. 9 team in the West Region, as the Boxers look to senior Oscar Wight to lead the program into 2018. Wight earned First Team All-NWC laurels in 2017.
Linfield received 34 points and was picked to finish fifth. The Wildcats have one senior on the roster in 2018, with Ben McNair set for his fourth season on the court for Linfield.
Whitworth earned 31 points for a predicted sixth place finish and returns a lone senior in Ian Fisher to the squad in 2018.
Pacific Lutheran was picked seventh with 21 points, while Willamette earned 14 points to be picked eighth. Puget Sound rounds out the preseason poll in ninth with 10 points.