TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- Rose-Hulman
Institute of Technology has been selected as the preseason favorite
to win the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship
this season, in a preseason poll of league women's tennis
coaches released today.
Rose-Hulman was picked first in the poll with eight of a possible 10 first-place votes and 96 points. Transylvania University was picked second with 87 points and the remaining two first-place votes.
The Fightin' Engineers return four of their six singles players and five members who participated in the NCAA Division III Tournament last spring. Rose-Hulman returns a total of eight varsity letter winners from a squad that finished 14-5 overall and 8-0 in league play in 2010. The team also won its first HCAC Tournament championship to qualify for last spring's NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore Marie Stettler was named first-team all-HCAC last season after finishing 8-0 at No. 3 and No. 4 singles in conference play. Junior Sage Sackett, junior Melissa Montgomery, and sophomore Colleen Stevenson also played in the singles rotation last fall. The doubles tandem of sophomores Paige Cook and Lauren Reberger also gained significant varsity time.
Rose-Hulman's schedule begins with matchups against Oakland City and Thomas More on Sept. 3. The home schedule opens with a matchup against Bluffton on Sept. 10.
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2011 HCAC WOMEN'S TENNIS PRESEASON COACHES POLL |
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| RANK | SCHOOL | PTS. (1st) | 2010 RECORD | 2010 HCAC |
| 1) | Rose-Hulman | 96 (8) | 14-5 | 8-0 |
| 2) | Transylvania | 87 (2) | 8-4 | 7-1 |
| 3) | Manchester | 73 | 6-8 | 5-3 |
| 4) | Anderson | 67 | 4-12 | 4-4 |
| 5) | Franklin | 61 | 11-4 | 6-2 |
| 6) | Hanover | 58 | 4-6 | 3-5 |
| 7) | Earlham | 43 | 6-7 | 2-6 |
| 8) | Mount St. Joseph | 33 | 4-9 | 1-7 |
| 9) | Defiance | 19 | 0-16 | 0-8 |
| 10) | Bluffton | 13 | 0-0 | 0-0 |