ROCK HILL, S.C. --- The Tusculum University men's tennis team has been chosen as the favorite for the 2023 season in the annual South Atlantic Conference preseason coaches poll, the SAC office announced Friday.

Five members of the Pioneer squad have received preseason All-Conference recognition in voting by the league's media relations offices. Four players were named preseason All-SAC in singles and two Pioneer doubles teams also earned All-SAC accolades.

Tusculum finished tied for third in the SAC last season at 9-3 and ended the year with a 13-8 overall record. The Pioneers are receiving votes in the ITA Division II National Team Rankings, and second-year head coach Matt Frost has five starters returning along with the addition of former SAC Player of the Year Rhodri Atkinson as a graduate transfer from Lenoir-Rhyne.

Atkinson is a preseason first-team All-SAC selection in singles, Frank Bonacia is a second-team pick, and Kenta Kondou and Nemanja Subanovic were both third-team preseason All-Conference honorees. In doubles, Atkinson and Bonacia were a first-team pairing while Subanovic and Marco Jalalian were a second-team choice.

Atkinson has been named first-team All-SAC in both singles and doubles each of the past two seasons and was the 2021 conference Player of the Year. The Longhope, England native went 47-14 in singles at Lenoir-Rhyne, including 28-8 in conference play, and was ranked 48th in Division II in singles at the end of last season after going 14-4 in singles, including 9-3 in SAC matches.

Bonacia was selected second-team All-SAC in singles each of the last two years, going 17-9 last season with a 7-5 conference record and ending the year ranked 68th in Division II in singles. Bonacia, a native of Rome, Italy, has a career record of 50-22 in singles for the Pioneers.

Kondou was third-team All-SAC in singles after going 21-6 last season, including 9-3 in conference competition. He led the Pioneers in singles wins and had a 15-4 mark in dual matches. A native of Saitama, Japan, Kondou has a 34-10 record for the Pioneers which includes a 27-5 record in dual contests.

Subanovic was second-team All-SAC in 2021 and finished with a 13-9 record in singles last year, going 4-4 in conference play. The native of Subotica, Serbia went 4-1 in singles during the fall and has a career record of 28-18 for the Pioneers.

In doubles, Atkinson was first-team All-SAC each of the last two seasons and had a 17-4 record last season, which included a 10-2 mark in conference play. Atkinson is 53-13 in his career in singles, which includes a 30-6 mark in SAC action. Bonacia was third-team All-SAC in doubles last year and second-team in 2021, and had a 17-9 record in doubles last year with a 10-2 mark in conference competition.

Subanovic was second-team All-SAC in 2021 and was 13-8 in doubles last season, with a 5-3 conference record, giving him a career 29-16 record in doubles play. Jalalian, a native of Hannover, Germany, was 4-3 in doubles as a freshman while playing with Subanovic, including 1-2 in league action.

Tusculum has not won a SAC regular-season championship since 2016, which capped a stretch of three titles in a span of four year. The Pioneers received five first-place votes and 130 points to finish just ahead of Anderson and Wingate, who tied for second with 128 points. Anderson had five first-place votes as well while Wingate had the other three first-place ballots.

Carson-Newman (105 points) was fourth in the poll, followed by Lenoir-Rhyne (102), Lincoln Memorial (88) and Limestone (79) in seventh. Newberry (60 points) was eighth, with Catawba (57), Coker (56), Mars Hill (42), UVA Wise (25) and league newcomer Emory & Henry (14) rounding out the rankings.

The Pioneers went 2-0 in the fall and will begin spring play on Saturday, Feb. 4 with an exhibition match at UNC Asheville. The home opener will be Wednesday, Feb. 8 against Lee and conference begins on Thursday, Feb. 16 at Mars Hill. Tusculum will wrap up regular season and SAC play on Thursday, April 13 at Catawba.

2023 SAC Men's Tennis Preseason Poll

2023 SAC Men's Tennis Preseason All-Conference
First Team Doubles
Hugo Nossler/Florian Walcher, Wingate
Rhodri Atkinson/Frank Bonacia, Tusculum
Thibaut Decaluwe/Samuel Winter, Coker

Second Team Doubles
Lars Hordijk/Marc Janse, Carson-Newman
Juan Sengariz/Julian Kenzlers, Anderson
Nemanja Subanovic/Marco Jalalian, Tusculum

Third Team Doubles
Greyson Doscotch/Aaron Cabo, Anderson
Edis Nokic/Gabriel Constantino, Wingate
Faris Hadzisadikovic/Youssef Ardouni, Mars Hill

First Team Singles
Juan Sengariz, Anderson
Florian Walcher, Wingate
Mateo Bivol, Newberry
Rhodri Atkinson, Tusculum
Marc Janse, Carson-Newman
Marnix Van Dalen, Carson-Newman

Second Team Singles
Frank Bonacia, Tusculum
Lars Hordijk, Carson-Newman
Marnix Van Dalen, Carson-Newman
Edis Nokic, Wingate
Gabriel Constantino, Wingate
Gjorgji Jankulovski, Carson-Newman

Third Team Singles
Greyson Doscotch, Anderson
Thibaut Decaluwe, Coker
Kenta Kondou, Tusculum
Philip Olsson, Anderson
Nemanja Subanovic, Tusculum
Julian Kenzlers, Anderson