GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's tennis team officially opens its 2025 spring season when the Pioneers take on the University of Charleston on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 3 p.m. on the campus of Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee.
The Pioneers were picked fourth in the South Atlantic Conference preseason coaches poll after finishing 16-7 last season and 9-3 in conference play. First-year head coach Garcian D'Cruz has five starters returning in singles and eight returnees overall on his 13-man roster.
Tusculum played an exhibition match at Division I UNC Asheville on Saturday, Jan. 25 and fell 4-3 to the Bulldogs, splitting the six singles matches with rallies from a set down in two of the victories.
PREVIEW
All-Conference junior Will Gee is joined by a quartet of seniors in Nathan Matsuguma, Miles Ray, Felipe Velasquez Quintana and Nathan West.
Gee (Faversham, England) is a second-team preseason All-SAC selection after finishing second on the team with 15 singles victories last season, including 10 dual match wins. Gee is 23-18 in singles and 24-21 in doubles in two seasons with the Pioneers.
Matsuguma (Tokyo, Japan) returns to the program after playing at Division I Lindenwood during the 2024 season. Matsuguma was 25-23 in singles and 17-17 in doubles in his two previous years with the Pioneers (2022-23). Ray (Cheltenham, England) was a doubles specialist for the Pioneers last season, compiling a 15-10 record during the 2024 campaign. Ray is 10-10 in singles and 21-14 in doubles in his career.
Quintana (Bogota, Colombia) is 4-3 in singles and 1-3 in doubles in his career, while West (Farnsfield, England) is a three-time member of the ITA All-Academic Team.
Also returning for the Pioneers are junior Sarthak Sharma and sophomores Anton Krondell and Rens Verhaar.
Sharma (Haryana, India) finished with a 10-5 record in singles and a 4-3 mark in doubles in his first year at Tusculum last year. Krondell (Helsingborg, Sweden) was the Pioneers' top winner in singles and doubles with a 16-11 mark in singles and a 19-10 mark in doubles play. Verhaar (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) was 13-8 in singles and 13-6 in doubles as a freshman for the Pioneers in 2024.
Joining the program are freshmen Angelos Avgeris (Thessaloniki, Greece), Eli England (Tazewell, Tenn.), Alex Izquierdo (Alella, Spain), Kai Poelchau (Culemborg, The Netherlands) and Isaac Wolff (Stockholm, Sweden).
SCHEDULE
Tusculum has five teams in the preseason ITA Division II Top 25 on its schedule -- conference opponents Wingate (9th) and Catawba (21st) along with non-league foes Indianapolis (12th), North Georgia (13th) and Charleston (15th).
The Pioneers play their home opener on Tuesday, Feb. 18 against King and will travel to Anderson for their SAC opener on Wednesday, March 5. The SAC Tournament will be played April 16-18 at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, South Carolina.
