EastTexasRadio.com Powered by Ten Stations
ASC Announces Preseason Men’s Tennis Poll, Players Watch List
RICHARDSON, Texas – The University of Texas at Tyler and the University of Texas at Dallas have been picked to win the 2018 American Southwest Conference men’s tennis East and West Division titles, respectively, after a vote of the league’s head coaches announced by the conference office Thursday.
UT-Tyler received 77 points and 12 out of a possible 13 first-place votes to secure the top spot in the East Division. UT Dallas collected 83 points and ten first-place votes to lead the West Division.
East Texas Baptist University was picked second in the East Division with 57 points and a first-place vote. LeTourneau University (50), Belhaven University (43), University of the Ozarks (31) and Louisiana College (14) followed ETBU.
In the West Division, Hardin-Simmons University received 76 points and a pair of first-place votes. University of the Mary Hardin-Baylor (53), McMurry University (53), Concordia University Texas (45), Sul Ross State University (31) and Howard Payne (23 – 1 first-place vote) round out the West Division voting.
UT-Tyler won the East Division and the ASC Championship in 2017 en route to a trip to the NCAA Championship First Round. UT Dallas won the West last season with a 6-0 record and was the runner-up to the Patriots at the ASC Championship.
In addition to the preseason poll, the ASC Men’s Tennis Preseason Watch List by the head coaches named 26 players. Among the players returning for the new season are four all-conference selections and seven more all-division picks.
UT-Tyler junior Arthur Fagundes (Curitiba, Brazil) is the reigning ASC East Most Valuable Player and is currently ranked No. 11 in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Hardin-Simmons junior Alex Hunt (Odessa, Texas) is 48th in the country.
The men’s tennis season will begin Saturday, January 27 when Concordia Texas play at Howard Payne in a non-conference match.
2018 ASC Men’s Tennis Preseason Poll
East Division
| Rank | Team (1st place votes) | Pts. | 2017 Record (ASC) |
| 1. | UT Tyler (12) | 77 | 19-7 (4-0) |
| 2. | East Texas Baptist (1) | 57 | 7-11 (3-1) |
| 3. | LeTourneau | 50 | 6-12 (2-2) |
| 4. | Belhaven # | 43 | 12-8 |
| 5. | Ozarks | 31 | 6-13 (1-3) |
| 6. | Louisiana College | 14 | 1-9 (0-4) |
# Ineligible for 2018 ASC Championship/NCAA Tournament (Div. III Provisional)
West Division
| Rank | Team (1st place votes) | Pts. | 2017 Record (ASC) |
| 1. | UT Dallas (10) | 83 | 13-4 (6-0) |
| 2. | Hardin-Simmons (2) | 76 | 10-12 (4-2) |
| 3. | Mary Hardin-Baylor | 53 | 10-5 (5-1) |
| McMurry % | 53 | 6-14 (3-3) | |
| 5. | Concordia Texas | 45 | 4-13 (2-4) |
| 6. | Sul Ross State | 31 | 1-13 (1-5) |
| 7. | Howard Payne (1) | 23 | 0-15 (0-6) |
% Ineligible for 2018 ASC Championship/NCAA Tournament (Div. III Reclassifying)
2018 ASC Men’s Tennis Preseason Players to Watch
Players selected by their respective head coach
| Name | Cl. | School |
| Mauricio Gonzalez | Jr. | Belhaven |
| Joan Soler | Jr. | Belhaven |
| Hoanh Le | Jr. | Concordia Texas |
| Adam Compton | Fr. | Concordia Texas |
| Cody Highsmith E | Jr. | East Texas Baptist |
| John Herr E | So. | East Texas Baptist |
| Alex Hunt | Jr. | Hardin-Simmons |
| Griffin Weinkam W | Jr. | Hardin-Simmons |
| Gabe Benitez | Sr. | Howard Payne |
| Ben Blanchard | Fr. | Howard Payne |
| Jimmie Henson E | So. | LeTourneau |
| Christian Farris E | So. | LeTourneau |
| Drake Battaglia | Jr. | Louisiana College |
| Curtis Sebren | Sr. | Louisiana College |
| Cole Weiss | So. | Mary Hardin-Baylor |
| Robert Galligan | Fr. | Mary Hardin-Baylor |
| Carlos Martinez *W | Fr. | McMurry |
| Clayton Pope | Sr. | McMurry |
| Melle Van Duijn | So. | Ozarks |
| Jonah Martinez E | So. | Ozarks |
| Jordan Whitehead | Jr. | Sul Ross State |
| Kyle Ferguson | So. | Sul Ross State |
| Mario Jelev W | Jr. | UT Dallas |
| Ashwin Vaithianathan*W | So. | UT Dallas |
| Arthur Fagundes * | Jr. | UT Tyler |
| Gabriel Hidalgo * E | So. | UT Tyler |
2017 All-Conference*
2017 East Division E
2017 West Division W
ASC Announces Preseason Women’s Tennis Poll, Players Watch List
RICHARDSON, Texas – The University of Texas at Tyler and the University of Texas at Dallas have been picked to win the 2018 American Southwest Conference women’s tennis East and West Division titles, respectively, after a vote of the league’s head coaches announced by the conference office Wednesday
UT-Tyler received 72 points and seven out of 13 first-place votes to secure the top spot in the East Division. UT Dallas collected 82 points and ten first-place votes to lead the West Division.
East Texas Baptist University was picked second in the East Division with 69 points and six first-place votes. LeTourneau University (44), Belhaven University (40), University of the Ozarks (31) and Louisiana College (17), followed ETBU.
In the West Division, McMurry University received 70 points and one first-place vote to rank second. Hardin-Simmons University was third with 65 points and a first-place vote, followed by Concordia University Texas who won a first-place vote and 53 points. University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (40), Howard Payne University (34) and Sul Ross State University (23) rounded out the West poll.
UT Tyler won the ASC East Division regular season title with a 4-0 record, while Hardin-Simmons took the West at 6-0. ETBU won the ASC Championship Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Championship Second Round
The ASC Women’s Tennis Preseason Watch List by the head coaches named 26 players. Among the players returning for the new season is All-Conference selection and reigning ASC East Freshman of the Year Elisa Kendall (Houston, Texas) from East Texas Baptist.
West Division Freshman of the Year Kathy Joseph (Williston, Vt.) of UT Dallas also returns, along with fellow All-West Divison selections Samantha Ritz (Rowlett, Texas) from McMurry and Michaela Ellison (Lampasas, Texas) from Hardin-Simmons.
The women’s tennis season will begin Saturday, January 27 when Howard Payne hosts Concordia Texas in a non-conference match.
2018 ASC Women’s Tennis Preseason Poll
East Division
| Rank | Team (1st place votes) | Pts. | 2017 Record (ASC) |
| 1. | UT Tyler (7) | 72 | 13-9 (4-0) |
| 2. | East Texas Baptist (6) | 69 | 19-5 (3-1) |
| 3. | LeTourneau | 44 | 2-15 (2-2) |
| 4. | Belhaven # | 40 | 14-6 |
| 5. | Ozarks | 31 | 4-16 (1-3) |
| 6. | Louisiana College | 17 | 3-8 (0-4) |
# Ineligible for 2018 ASC Championship/NCAA Tournament (Div. III Provisional)
West Division
| Rank | Team (1st place votes) | Pts. | 2017 Record (ASC) |
| 1. | UT Dallas (10) | 82 | 5-8 (4-2) |
| 2. | McMurry % (1) | 70 | 14-8 (5-1) |
| 3. | Hardin-Simmons (1) | 65 | 15-7 (6-0) |
| 4. | Concordia Texas (1) | 53 | 6-12 (3-3) |
| 5. | Mary Hardin-Baylor | 40 | 1-11 (1-5) |
| 6. | Howard Payne | 34 | 5-15 (2-4) |
| 7. | Sul Ross State | 23 | 2-12 (0-6) |
% Ineligible for 2018 ASC Championship/NCAA Tournament (Div. III Reclassifying)
2018 ASC Women’s Tennis Preseason Players to Watch
Players selected by their respective head coach
| Name | Cl. | School |
| Jandaylia Lubin | Jr. | Belhaven |
| Macey Lea | Fr. | Belhaven |
| Justus Aarhus | So. | Concordia Texas |
| Camille Kempf | So. | Concordia Texas |
| Tess Willis | Jr. | East Texas Baptist |
| Elisa Kendall *E | So. | East Texas Baptist |
| Michaela Ellison W | Sr. | Hardin-Simmons |
| Abigail Kendall | So. | Hardin-Simmons |
| Breanna Hunt | Sr. | Howard Payne |
| Erin Blanchard | Fr. | Howard Payne |
| Terin Murray | Jr. | LeTourneau |
| Gracie Favela | So. | LeTourneau |
| Alexandra McKissick | So. | Louisiana College |
| Katie Brown | So. | Louisiana College |
| AshLee Montgomery | Jr. | Mary Hardin-Baylor |
| Payton Burk | Fr. | Mary Hardin-Baylor |
| Samantha Ritz W | Jr. | McMurry |
| Zayra Gomez | Jr. | McMurry |
| Imani Doyle | Jr. | Ozarks |
| Karlee Hart | So. | Ozarks |
| Alexa Gallardo | Sr. | Sul Ross State |
| Annette Posada | Jr. | Sul Ross State |
| Kathy Joseph W | So. | UT Dallas |
| Sindhu Ravula | So. | UT Dallas |
| Marissa Quevedo | Sr. | UT Tyler |
| Caitlyn Cox | Fr. | UT Tyler |
2017 All-Conference*
2017 East Division E
2017 West Division W
Cody Usher
Assistant Commissioner
American Southwest Conference