FOREST, Va. --- The ODAC has recognized 44 men's tennis championship since the league began operations in 1976-77. Washington and Lee University has won 39 of them. That dominance makes it no surprise that the Generals again feature at the top of the ODAC Men's Tennis Coaches Poll as the favorite to lift their 12th straight conference trophy in May.

W&L collected 10 first place votes from league coaches to power it to 100 total points to lead the annual survey. Virginia Wesleyan University, runner-up to W&L last season, garnered the remaining top nod on the way to 88 markers. Guilford College sits third with 82 tallies.

In the following sections, we take a quick look back at last season and some results from the fall as we get a feel for what to expect for the upcoming men's tennis spring campaign.

2021 ODAC TOURNAMENT | BRACKET
Play in the 2021 men's tennis tournament was altered from previous seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Teams played in four rounds on different days at campus sites rather than play through the first round and quarterfinals on campus sites and then travel to one campus for a joint "final four" experience with one men's tennis over two days.

• Washington and Lee and Virginia Wesleyan clashed in the championship match for the first time since 2016
• The top-seeded Generals defeated #9 Bridgewater, 5-0, in the quarterfinals and duplicated that effort in the semifinals against #5 Roanoke.
• The second-seeded Marlins topped #6 Randolph-Macon, 5-1, in the quarters and then used a 5-2 decision to advance beyond #3 Guilford to the ODAC title match
• In the championship tilt at W&L, Virginia Wesleyan owned a 2-1 advantage following doubles play as Felix Bevc and Mitchell Perry won 8-6 at #1 and Michael Portera and Connor Cummings won 8-4 at #3; W&L's point came via an 8-2 win by T.J. Rudden and Noah Tapp at #2
• In singles play, the Generals picked up the four points they needed with victories at the #3-6 ladder positions -- Alex Fedor at #3 (4-6, 6-3, 6-3), Tapp at #4 (6-3, 6-1), Harry Kittredge at #5 (6-1, 6-0), and Rudden at #6 (6-2, 6-0)
• The team triumph marked the 39th overall and 11th straight ODAC crown for the Generals
• For VWU, the event marked the fourth overall appearance in an ODAC title match for the program, each coming since 2014

2021 NCAA DIVISION III TOURNAMENT - TEAM

• Automatic qualifier Washington and Lee represented the ODAC in the Division III team tournament
• W&L, ranked 32nd in the country, traveled to Nashville for early round play; following a bye thru the first round, the Generals defeated Rose-Hulman, 5-1, in round two
• W&L's season came to a close the next day as they fell to nationally 10th-ranked Williams College, 5-0

2021 NCAA DIVISION III TOURNAMENT - SINGLES/DOUBLES

• The ODAC did not have any single or doubles qualifiers

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING NATIONALLY ENTERING THE 2022 SPRING SEASON

• ITA National and Regional Rankings - Team: the ITA has not yet published national or regional rankings for teams this year; the last ranking was on June 15, which saw Washington and Lee ranked 29th in the country
• ITA National and Regional Rankings - Individual (12/9/21):
  • National Singles: No ODAC players feature among the top-50 ranked singles competitors in Division III
  • National Doubles: No ODAC pairs feature among the top-25 ranked doubles teams in Division III
  • Atlantic South Region Singles: No ODAC players feature among the top-20 singles competitors in the Atlantic South Region
  • Atlantic South Region Doubles: No ODAC pairs feature among the top-10 ranked doubles teams in the Atlantic South Region

RETURNING ALL-ODAC TALENT | 2021 ALL-ODAC MEN'S TENNIS AWARDS
Just 10 players from last season's All-ODAC men's tennis awards list are not featuring this season, leading to a plethora of familiar faces on conference courts this year. That includes two-time ODAC Player of the Year Canon Secord from Bridgewater and teammate Matthew Gordon, who earned the ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete award. Virginia Wesleyan welcomes back ODAC Rookie of the Year Felix Bevc.

   FIRST TEAM SINGLES

• #1 Singles: Canon Secord (BC)
• #1 Singles: Mitchell Perry (VWU)
• #2 Singles: Felix Bevc (VWU)
• #2 Singles: Evan Brady (W&L)
• #3 Singles: Connor Coleman (W&L)
• #6 Singles: Jonathan Molner (W&L)

   FIRST TEAM DOUBLES

• #1 Doubles: Felix Bevc/Mitchell Perry (VWU)
• #1 Doubles: Connor Coleman (W&L) -- partner Harry Kittredge graduated
• #2 Doubles: Henry West (VWU) -- partner Anthony Wilson graduated

   SECOND TEAM SINGLES

• #1 Singles: Nicolas Alvarado (RAND)
• #2 Singles: Drake Schreiber (GC)
• #4 Singles: Jay Montague (GC)
• #6 Singles: Drew Clark (GC)

   SECOND TEAM DOUBLES

• #1 Doubles: Canon Second (BC) -- partner Nick Kiser graduated
• #2 Doubles: Gabe Elder/Matthew Gordon (BC)
• #3 Doubles: Tye Sasser (GC) -- partner Tim Thompson graduated

FROM THE FALL 2021
ODAC teams and student-athletes competed in several events during the fall campaign. Below a few highlights from those outings, offering a preview of what is to come during the spring slate.

• ITA Southeast Region Championships | W&L's Eli Hirsberg and Evan Brady reached the round of 16 of the main singles draw after winning twice on the first day; VWU's Felx Bevc went 2-1 in the main singles draw, falling in his opening round match before picking up a pair of consolation wins; teammate Mitchell Perry won his first round match before bowing out
• Early Head-to-Head Matches: Several schools played a handful of head-to-head matches during the fall season; Ferrum and Randolph both picked up wins in their lone outings, while Guilford went 1-1 in two chances

THE SCHEDULE AND TOURNAMENT

• ODAC teams will compete in a 9-match conference regular season using an unbalanced schedule
• Play in the spring season begins on Saturday, February 12
• The ODAC Tournament returns to its traditional eight-team tournament competed four three rounds with a final-four format at one host site
  
  • Quarterfinals: Tuesday, May 3, at #1-4 Seeds
  • Semifinals: Saturday, May 7, at Washington and Lee (earlier time slots)
  • Championship: Sunday, May 8, at Washington and Lee (earlier time slot)
• The selections for the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Team Tournament will be announced on Monday, May 9; the draws for the singles and doubles tournaments will be announced later that week

Listed below is the 2022 ODAC Men's Tennis Coaches Poll. For more information on ODAC men's tennis, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, 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 and follow @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.

2022 ODAC MEN'S TENNIS COACHES POLL