Women's Tennis | 1/25/2019 3:49:00 PM
MELBOURNE, Fla. – Barry University has been selected No. 1 in the Sunshine State Conference Preseason Women's Tennis Coaches' Poll. The two-time defending national champions received 100 total votes and 10 first-place votes in the 2019 edition of the poll.
Lynn is the favorite to challenge the Buccaneers in 2019. The Fighting Knights finished second in the poll with 90 points and garnered the remaining first-place vote. Saint Leo University follows in third place with 80 points, while Nova Southeastern holds fourth place with 73 points and Florida Southern sits in fifth with 64 points. Rounding out the preseason ranking are Rollins (58 points), Embry-Riddle (37 points), Tampa (36 points), Florida Tech (29 points), Palm Beach Atlantic (28 points), and Eckerd (10 points).
The Buccaneers won the SSC regular season, NCAA regional, and the national title in repeat fashion. Barry swept the University of West Florida to hoist the NCAA championship trophy for a fourth time in eight years. Lynn, Saint Leo, and Florida Southern also saw action in the 2018 NCAA tournament.
The Bucs have five players returning from last year's undefeated national championship squad, led by All-American Verena Schmid, who earned the honors in both singles and doubles. She was also a First-Team All-SSC pick in both singles and doubles. The other four players have also been all-conference picks. Zuza Maciejewska was a singles pick in 2016 and 2017 and earned doubles all three years. Carolin Schmidt and Julie Razafindranaly were Second-Team picks in both singles and doubles last year. Hannah Seizer was also a Second-Team pick in doubles.
Barry and Lynn account for seven of the SSC's eight women's tennis national championships. The Buccaneers have won the most recent titles (2011, 2014, 2017, & 2018), while the Fighting Knights won the previous three (1997, 1998, & 2001). The remaining championship belongs to the University of North Florida (1994).
Nova Southeastern will host the 2019 SSC men's and women's tennis championships April 25-27 at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Winners of each tournament will receive automatic qualification to the 2019 NCAA Division II Championships. First and second rounds for the 2019 NCAA Championships will be played at non-predetermined sites May 11-14. Finals for both men and women will take place Tuesday, May 21st - Saturday, May 25th at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
Above are the full results of the 2019 SSC preseason coaches' poll. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their teams (points: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses).
