Tusculum selected fifth in SAC preseason poll, Yaguar named second-team All-Conference in singles

Tusculum selected fifth in SAC preseason poll, Yaguar named second-team All-Conference in singles

ROCK HILL, S.C. --- Tusculum University has been chosen to finish fifth in the South Atlantic Conference in men's tennis for the 2019 season, according to voting by the league's head coaches which was announced by the league office on Friday.

The Pioneers had one player selected to the preseason All-Conference team, as voted upon by the league's media relations offices. Sophomore Gabriel Yaguar was a second-team selection in singles for the Pioneers and fourth-year head coach Adam Jackson.

Tusculum went 15-8 overall and 5-5 in the SAC last season, finishing in sixth place in the final regular-season standings. The Pioneers upset Lincoln Memorial in the quarterfinal round of the SAC Championship tournament before being eliminated by eventual champion Wingate in the semifinals.

Yaguar played throughout the Pioneer lineup last season, seeing most of his action at flight six. The native of Guayaquil, Ecuador finished the year with a 12-3 record, the second-most singles victories on the team, and had a 6-2 mark in eight conference matches.

Queens and Wingate, which shared the conference regular-season title last year, were separated by a single-first place vote in the preseason poll. Queens received six first-place votes and 106 points in the balloting, while Wingate had the other five first-place votes and a total of 105 points for second place in the survey.

Anderson (83 points), Lincoln Memorial (78) and Tusculum (74) rounded out the top five, followed by Newberry in sixth with 66 points, Lenoir-Rhyne (62), Catawba (50), Coker (39), Carson-Newman (32) and Mars Hill (20).

The Pioneers will play their inaugural match on the refurbished courts at the Nichols Tennis Complex on Saturday, Feb. 9 at noon against Virginia-Wise.

 

2019 SAC Men's Tennis Preseason Poll

Rank

Team

Points (1st)

1

Queens

106 (6)

2

Wingate

105 (5)

3

Anderson

83

4

Lincoln Memorial

78

5

Tusculum

74

6

Newberry

66

7

Lenoir-Rhyne

62

8

Catawba

50

9

Coker

39

10

Carson-Newman

32

11

Mars Hill

20

 

2019 SAC Men's Tennis Preseason All-Conference
First Team Doubles
Hamed Gandouz/Shane O'Dea, Lenoir-Rhyne
Julian Bosch / Joel Dunlap, Queens
Agustin Aran Martin / Sebastian Meum, Queens

Second Team Doubles
Hufelder Duarte/Tomas Depiaggio, Anderson
Jesus Bacete-Sanz /Gabriel Dabdab, Carson-Newman
Jose Navarro / Sean Nguyen, Newberry

First Team Singles
Daniel Belsito, Wingate
Edison Ambarzumjan, Newberry
Ignacio Bidegain, Anderson
Agustin Aran Martin, Queens
Julian Bosch, Queens
Josep Canyadell, Wingate

Second Team Singles
David Segarra, Lincoln Memorial
Gabriel Yaguar, Tusculum
Luca Picci, Catawba
Jose Navarro, Newberry
Matt Jones, Wingate
Hamed Gandouz, Lenoir-Rhyne