The Whitman Blues have been selected as the preseason favorite for the 2026 Northwest Conference (NWC) men’s tennis season in a vote of the conference’s head coaches.
Whitman enters the spring as the defending NWC Tournament champion and the 2025 regular season champions after posting a 13–1 record in conference play a year ago. The Blues totaled 49 points in the poll and received seven of the eight first-place votes.
Lewis & Clark was picked to finish second with 41 points and the remaining first-place vote following a strong showing last season. Whitworth placed third with 34 points, while Pacific was selected fourth with 30 points.
George Fox and Linfield tied for fifth in the voting with 25 points each. Puget Sound earned 13 points to take seventh, and Willamette rounded out the poll in eighth with seven points.
The 2026 NWC men’s tennis season will conclude with the NWC Tournament on April 18–19, with the tournament champion earning the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championship.
|
Team
|
Pts.
|
2025 NWC Finish
|
|
Whitman (7)
|
49
|
1st
|
|
Lewis & Clark (1)
|
41
|
3rd
|
|
Whitworth
|
34
|
5th
|
|
Pacific
|
30
|
4th
|
|
George Fox
|
25
|
2nd
|
|
Linfield
|
25
|
6th
|
|
Puget Sound
|
13
|
7th
|
|
Willamette
|
7
|
8th
|
*Numbers in parentheses indicate first place votes.