HCAC announces men's tennis preseason poll

CARMEL, Ind. – After a vote amongst league coaches, the 2020 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Tennis Preseason Poll was announced Monday morning. Defiance College earned 21 points in the voting and landed eighth.

After claiming their fifth-straight HCAC crown last season, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology has been pegged to finish first as they secured 78 points and eight first-place votes in the polling. Hanover College and Earlham College complete the top three with 65 and 63 points respectively. Anderson University collects 53 points and the lone remaining first-place vote in fourth. Transylvania University rounds out the top five with 45 points.

DC's 21 points see the Yellow Jackets finish eighth in the poll. The Purple and Gold are directly preceded by Manchester University with 27 points and finish above Mount St. Joseph University as the Lions earn 18 points.

Defiance lands two team members on the 2020 HCAC Athletes to Watch list. Ethan Harris (Huntertown, Ind./Carroll) and Jared Schnee (Bellevue/Bellevue) are the returning duo to earn the honor.

Harris returns for his sophomore season after collecting a team-best six wins during the 2019 season, each of which from the number one singles position.

Schnee is back for his junior campaign after playing all of 2019 in the number two singles slot. The Bellevue, Ohio native picked up three wins last fall while adding a pair of victories in doubles action.

The Yellow Jackets begin their season on Friday, March 30, as they host Concordia University (Mich.) at 3:00 pm.

2020 HCAC MEN'S TENNIS PRESEASON POLL

(#) Denotes First Place Votes