ROCK HILL, S.C.--The South Atlantic Conference announced the Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll on Wednesday, selecting the Trojans to finish t-6th of 12 teams in the league.
Topping the list is reigning regular season and SAC Tournament Champions, Catawba, with 130 points and nine first-place votes. Wingate claims the second spot in the poll with 124 points and three first-place votes. Also ahead of the Trojans are Lincoln Memorial, Carson-Newman and Lenoir-Rhyne with 110, 96 and 85 points respectively. Anderson earned 75 points to tie Tusculum for a 6th-best mark. The Trojans sit ahead of Coker, UVA Wise, Newberry, Mars Hill, and Emory & Henry.
AU enters the 2026 season following a 7th-place finish in the SAC last year after going 6-6 in league play. Last season, the Trojans defeated Coker, Tusculum, Mars Hill, Newberry, Emory & Henry and Carson-Newman.
The SAC also released a Players to Watch List, which includes Trojan juniors Mathis Collignon (Les Pavillons Sous Bois, France), Vicent Fenollar (Alicante, Spain) and Wynn Shioi (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Collignon earned a spot on the 2025 All-Conference Singles Team after going 4-3 at the No. 1 position, earning league victories over Coker, Tusculum and Emory & Henry. Collignon also went 9-1 at the No. 2 doubles alongside teammate Sky Thavornchaisophon, defeating SAC opponents from Lenoir-Rhyne, Coker, Lincoln Memorial, Limestone, UVA Wise, Newberry, Catawba and Carson-Newman.
Fenollar earned a 6-2 singles record at the No. 3 position last spring, picking up conference wins over Coker, Mars Hill, Limestone, Newberry and Carson-Newman. He went 12-6 in doubles across the season, winning six-straight with teammate Patrick Cronin to defeat five consecutive SAC doubles opponents.
Shioi went 9-7 overall in singles play, primarily at the No. 2 position, boasting SAC singles wins over Tusculum, Mars Hill, Emory & Henry and Carson-Newman. In doubles competition, he earned league wins over Tusculum, Mars Hill, Emory & Henry and Carson-Newman.
Anderson opens the spring campaign hosting USC Sumter and Francis Marion on Feb. 13 and Feb. 21. League play kicks off with the Trojans welcoming Lenoir-Rhyne on Feb. 25 and Lincoln Memorial on Feb. 28.
2026 SAC Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll
Rank School (1st Place Votes) Points
1 Catawba (9) 130
2 Wingate (3) 124
3 Lincoln Memorial 110
4 Carson-Newman 96
5 Lenoir-Rhyne 85
6t Tusculum 75
6t Anderson 75
8 Coker 67
9 UVA Wise 61
10 Newberry 46
11 Mars Hill 31
12 Emory & Henry 24
2026 SAC Men's Tennis Preseason Players to Watch
Anderson: Mathis Collignon, Vicent Fenollar, Wynn Shioi
Catawba: Agustin Mastri, Santiago Passoni, Luca Bergonzi
Carson-Newman: Louis Keenan, Darko Kolevski, Leonard Baecker
Coker: Marcio Silve, Lukas Melone, Eduardo Pilia
Emory & Henry: Keenan Glago, Nathan Spurling, Bangalie Turay
Lenoir-Rhyne: Vadym Rogynsyi, Vitor Ferreira, Zeno Godi
Lincoln Memorial: Radu Florea, Alexandru Rares Giurea, Ethan Hirons
Mars Hill: Paul-Antoine Pelzer, Diell Mehmedi, Riccardo Moretti
Newberry: Senthen Reddy, Daniel Watson, Noel Bartz
Tusculum: Will Gee, Angus Howard, Rens Verhaar
UVA Wise: Mustafa Raja, Yi-Hsuan Chen, Miguel De Rueda
Wingate: Carlo Rosellini, Ruben LeBron, Rod De La Torre
