Posted: Jan 28, 2015

Men’s tennis ranked 3rd, women’s tennis 5th in preseason USA South poll

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – The Huntingdon men's tennis team is ranked third and the Huntingdon women's tennis team is ranked fifth in the USA South preseason polls released on Wednesday.

The Huntingdon men were 13-4 last season and reached the conference tournament semifinals in their first season in the USA South Athletic Conference. The Hawks picked up one first-place vote and a total of 68 points in the preseason poll.

Six-time defending conference champion North Carolina Wesleyan is the preseason favorite with eight first-place votes and 80 points and 2014 runner-up Methodist is second with 1 first-place vote and 70 points.

Rounding out the top-5 of the men's poll are Piedmont in fourth with 58 points and Averett in fifth with 45 points.

The Lady Hawks totaled 100 points in the women's poll. The Huntingdon women were 10-7 last season and lost to Methodist in the USA South tournament semifinals.

Five-time defending conference champion Methodist received eight first-place votes and 140 points to lead the poll. Meredith is second with 125 points. North Carolina Wesleyan picked up five first-place votes and is third with 118 points and Covenant is fourth with 111 points.

The Huntingdon men and women open the season on Feb. 27 at Point University.

The complete polls are listed below.

USA South Preseason Men's Tennis Poll

1. N.C. Wesleyan (8 first-place votes), 80 points

2. Methodist (1), 70 points

3. Huntingdon (1), 68 points

4. Piedmont, 58 points

5. Averett, 45 points

6. LaGrange, 41 points

7. Covenant, 32 points

8. Ferrum, 24 points

9. Greensboro, 21 points

10. Maryville, 11 points

USA South Preseason Women's Tennis Poll

1. Methodist (8 first-place votes), 140 points

2. Meredith, 125 points

3. N.C. Wesleyan (5), 118 points

4. Covenant, 111 points

5. Huntingdon, 100 points

6. Piedmont, 93 points

7. Maryville, 87 points

8. LaGrange, 62 points

9. William Peace, 58 points

10. Averett, 39 points

11. Mary Baldwin, 32 points

12. Ferrum, 26 points

13. Greensboro, 23 points