ROCK HILL, S.C. --- The Tusculum University men's tennis team has been picked for third in the South Atlantic Conference preseason coaches poll, the SAC office announced Friday.

Three Pioneers were selected to the preseason All-Conference team, as senior Frank Bonacia and sophomore Nemanja Subanovic were first-team picks in singles and also a first-team selection as a doubles pairing. Senior Kenta Kondou earned preseason second-team All-SAC recognition in voting conducted by the conference's media relations offices.

The Pioneers, ranked 23rd in the ITA Division II national preseason poll, are the defending SAC Tournament champions after earning their first title since 2008 with a victory over Anderson in last spring's conference finals. Tusculum made its first NCAA Division II Tournament appearance since 2008 and finished the year with a 17-4 overall record and a 9-2 mark in SAC action for third place.

First-year head coach Matt Frost welcomes back four singles starters and two of the three doubles teams from last season's squad. This year's Tusculum roster is bolstered by the addition of six freshmen and a sophomore transfer.

Bonacia was second-team All-SAC in singles and doubles last season after tying for the team lead in wins with 16. The Rome, Italy native was 10-1 in conference play and went 11-3 at flight three last spring. In the fall, Bonacia was 9-2 and was a quarterfinalist at the ITA Southeast Regional, giving him a career singles record of 40-12 at Tusculum and earning a number 32 national singles rank in Division II by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

Subanovic was also second-team All-SAC in both singles and doubles last year, compiling an 11-8 singles record while playing primarily at flight two for the Pioneers. The Subotica, Serbia native was 6-3 in conference matches, and had eight straight-set victories.

As a team, Bonacia and Subanovic went 7-3 at flight one last spring and won a tiebreaker in the SAC championship match against Anderson to help the Pioneers earn the critical doubles point. The duo went 4-2 in the fall.

Kondou finished 10-1 in singles for the Pioneers last season, playing mostly at flight six. The Saitama, Japan native opened last season with seven consecutive victories, and Kondou had a 19-4 set record in singles. Kondou was 7-2 in the fall for the Pioneers to improve his record at Tusculum to 17-3 in singles.

Wingate, which went unbeaten in conference play last year at 10-0 and finished 13-3 overall, received 10 first-place votes and 145 points for the top spot in the poll. Queens (14-4, 11-1 SAC) was second with two first-place votes and 143 points, with the Pioneers in third with 134 points. Anderson (12-4, 8-3) was fourth with the other first-place vote and 122 points, followed by Lenoir-Rhyne (9-7, 9-3) in fifth with 112 points.

Carson-Newman (7-11, 5-6 SAC) was sixth with 90 points, followed by Lincoln Memorial (7-10, 6-6) in seventh with 85 points and Limestone (6-9, 5-7) in eighth with 78 points. Coker (5-10, 4-7 SAC) was ninth with 65 points, and the rest of the poll consisted of Catawba (3-9, 2-5) with 59 points in tenth, Newberry (1-13, 1-10) in 11th with 57 points, Mars Hill (3-11, 2-10) in 12th with 47 points and UVA Wise (1-14, 0-12) earning 35 points for 13th place.

The Pioneers, who are 1-0 after beating North Greenville 5-2 in the fall, will play their first official spring match on Saturday, Feb. 5 against 10th-ranked North Georgia at the Nichols Tennis Complex.

2022 SAC Men's Tennis Preseason Poll 

2022 SAC Men's Tennis Preseason All-Conference
First Team Doubles
Rhodri Atkinson / Josh Lazenby, Lenoir-Rhyne
Nemanja Subanovic / Frank Bonacia, Tusculum
Edoardo Bottino / Edoardo Cecere, Queens

Second Team Doubles
Yoan Roussinov/Jan Malmon, Queens
Isaac MacMillan/Sean Keane, Coker

First Team Singles
Rhodri Atkinson, Lenoir-Rhyne
Frank Bonacia, Tusculum
Edoardo Bottino, Queens
Yoan Roussinov, Queens
Marc Janse, Carson-Newman
Nemanja Subanovic, Tusculum

Second Team Singles
Edoardo Cecere, Queens
Aaron Cabo, Anderson
Adam Kush, Anderson
Kenta Kondou, Tusculum
Josh Lazenby, Lenoir-Rhyne
Fabian Sjokvist, Lincoln Memorial