W&L Receives 10 First Place Votes, BC Earns Remainder

FOREST, Va. --- Washington and Lee University, winners of the last five conference titles, headline the 2015 ODAC Men's Tennis Preseason Poll.  The Generals earned 100 total points, including 10 first place votes from the league's head coaches.  Virginia Wesleyan College sits second with 87 tallies, while Bridgewater College holds down third with 77 points and the remaining top nod.

Washington and Lee captured its fifth straight and 33rd  title in the 38 years that the ODAC has awarded a team championship trophy after defeating Virginia Wesleyan, 5-0, last season. W&L earned the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Tournament and the Generals hosted the first and second rounds in Lexington, Va. Washington and Lee defeated Catholic, 5-0, in the first round, but fell to Kenyon, 5-1, in the second round.

Top doubles partners Taylor Shamshiri and Michael Holt extended W&L's representation on the national stage at the NCAA Division III Doubles Tournament hosted at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center on the campus of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in Claremont, Calif. The W&L duo won their opening match by a score of 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 over a pair from Skidmore University to advance to the quarterfinals, but fell the following day, 6-3, 6-4, to the then second-seeded duo from Washington University in St. Louis.  

The 2014 season proved that several teams and players are positioned well for the start of the 2015 spring campaign. On the team side, Washington and Lee enters the spring as the 34th-ranked squad nationally and fifth in the Atlantic South Region by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Virginia Wesleyan is currently 17th in the region, while Bridgewater follows closely behind in the 18th position. One individual and one doubles team also appear in the region tables. BC's Brandon Larsen is currently ranked 24th, while VWC's doubles teandem of Spenser Bullock and Drew Tomajczyk are slotted 11th.

Washington and Lee (18-5 overall, 10-0 in ODAC play in 2014) will be stacked again in 2015 as it welcomes back five first team individuals. Holt (11-3 at #2S), the 2014 ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year, spearheads the Generals' roster, while Christopher Hu (9-4 overall, 6-4 at #3S), Jordan Krasner (14-4 overall, 7-4 at #4S), Brian Krouskos (9-3 overall, 4-3 at #5S) and Sam Borowsky (6-1 overall, 3-1 at #6S) earned their first team accolades from their respective flights. Holt (17-3 with Taylor Shamshiri) and Krasner (9-3 with John Kirby) formed one-half of the first team #1 and #3 doubles squads, respectively. Borowsky and Hu also (8-3 at #2D) earned second team laurels for their doubles work.

Virginia Wesleyan (15-5, 9-1) returns a pair of first and second teamers from singles play and one full doubles squad from the second team, including the 2014 ODAC Rookie of the Year, Kenneth Downing. Downing notched a 14-3 record at #2 singles and Graham Wilson went 14-4 at #1 singles to earn first team laurels in their respective positions. Tyler Cheng (11-4 at #5 singles) and Brendan Kelleher (11-3 overall, 9-3 at #6S) collected second team honors, while the duo of Downing and Wilson went 14-5 to earn All-ODAC Second Team accolades.

Bridgewater (12-10, 7-3) welcomes Jordan Robinson as he is one of three new head coaches at a conference school in 2014-15. Robinson enjoys the return of a full doubles team that earned first team recognition last season, along with three singles players and part of a doubles team that earned second team laurels. The duo of Larsen and Thomas Rishcoff (16-3 overall, 13-2 at #2D) spearhead the Eagles' returners. Larsen (13-6) was also tabbed to the second team at #1 singles, while Kyle Hartfield (13-6 at #2S) and Christian Lynn (13-5 at #3S) collected second team accolades at their positions. Hartfield (8-5 with Sam Churchill) also formed one-half of the #3 doubles squad and was a second team choice.

Randolph-Macon College (12-7, 8-2) and reigning ODAC Coach of the Year, Charles Gray, returns first and second team selections from a year ago. Ryan Byrd (Michael Baxter) was part of a doubles team that went 9-9 at #1 doubles to earn first team honors, while John Adams is one of the returning top singles players after earning second team laurels from recording a 12-2 record at #4 singles. Connor Hoerr is also back after posting an 11-6 record at #2 singles.

Guilford College (7-11, 5-5) features the duo of Erik Meiler and Turner Votipka, who were a second team choice at #1 doubles (9-7) last season. Votipka also recorded a 10-7 record at #1 singles, while Trevor Cox notched a 9-7 overall record in singles play. Meiler recored a 3-11 mark at #2 singles.

Roanoke College (8-7, 4-6) and Hampden-Sydney College (6-7, 6-4) both return several talented players.  RC's top returning players include #1 singles player Joseph Ross, who finished with a 10-5 record and #2 singles player Matt Kessler, who registered a 6-8 record. The duo also went 3-3 at #1 doubles. H-SC will be under new leadership this season as it named Robert Bareford the next Tigers' mentor in August 2014. H-SC welcomes back Thacher Jennings, who posted a 7-6 overall record and a 4-4 mark at #4 singles. Trent Singleton is also back in tow after tallying a 5-6 overall record and a 4-3 nod at #5 singles, while David Dodson (5-1 overall, 3-1 at #6S) returns to add depth for the Tigers.

Emory & Henry College (3-14, 1-9) and Randolph College (7-11, 3-7) each welcome back a talented players to their respective courts. The Wasps will look to John Ferguson to lead the charge this year. Ferguson finished the 2014 season with a 7-5 mark at #2 singles, while Kamil Aliev posted a 5-7 record at #3 singles. The WildCats will turn to Daniil Lyalko (3-12 at #1 singles), JT von Seggern (6-7 at #2 singles) and Dan Phung (6-7 overall, 4-5 at #5 singles).

Shenandoah University (3-11, 1-9) and Lynchburg College (1-10, 1-9) will look to some of their veteran players to pave the way this year.  SU will be led by top singles player Steven Baker (4-10 at #1S). Will Leach (3-10) and Zach O'Neal (3-9) are also back at the second and third positions, respectively.  LC has a new look this season as Josef Manilla will lead Lynchburg. Manilla will look to his only two returning players, Andrew Link (1-7 overall) and Josh Johnson (0-7) to guide the way this year.

Listed below is the full 2015 ODAC Men's Tennis Preseason Poll.  For more information on ODAC men's tennis, visit any of the participating school's websites, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.  Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook.  You can also follow the ODAC on Twitter @odacathletics. 

2015 ODAC MEN'S TENNIS PRESEASON POLL
(#) Denotes First Place Votes