Women's Tennis | 2/27/2021 2:21:00 PM
MELBOURNE, Fla. – Barry University sits atop the 2021 Sunshine State Conference Preseason Women's Tennis Coaches' Poll. The three-time defending national champions received 78 total points and eight first-place votes in the 2021 edition of the poll.
Lynn University finished second in the poll with 74 points and garnered two first-place votes from conference coaches. Nova Southeastern University sits in third place with 63, while Saint Leo University holds fourth place with 59 points, and Florida Southern College lands in fifth with 48 points. Rounding out the preseason ranking are the University of Tampa (37 points), Rollins College (36 points), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (24 points), Palm Beach Atlantic University (20 points), and Eckerd College (9 points). Poll positions remained unchanged from 2020.
COVID-19 limited SSC teams to between 10 and 14 matches in 2020. Barry and Lynn were undefeated through 13 and 11 games, respectively. Nova Southeastern was also off to a strong start, dropping just one match in 14 contests. Embry-Riddle's only loss came at the hands of Barry. Otherwise, the Eagles only let up four points in their eight wins. Every league team had a winning record in non-conference play last season, combining for a 71-14 (.835) overall record.
Barry is the reigning NCAA Division II Women's Tennis champion three times over and accounts for five of the league's nine titles, winning in 2011, 2014, 2017, 2018, and 2019. Lynn won back-to-back national titles in 1997-98 and followed with a third in 2001. The remaining championship belongs to the University of North Florida (1994).
Nova Southeastern visits Tampa on Tuesday, March 2nd for the first match of 2021. This year's SSC championship is scheduled for April 22nd and 25th, with all tournament matches played at campus sites. The composite schedule for 2021 can be found,
here.
Below are the full results of the 2021 SSC preseason coaches' poll. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their teams (points: 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses).
| 2021 SSC WOMEN'S TENNIS PRESEASON COACHES POLL |
| Rank |
School (FPV) |
Total Points |
| 1 |
Barry (8) |
80 |
| 2 |
Lynn (2) |
74 |
| 3 |
Nova Southeastern |
63 |
| 4 |
Saint Leo |
59 |
| 5 |
Florida Southern |
48 |
| 6 |
Tampa |
37 |
| 7 |
Rollins |
36 |
| 8 |
Embry-Riddle |
24 |
| 9 |
Palm Beach Atlantic |
20 |
| 10 |
Eckerd |
9 |
SSC Women's Tennis History: National Championships | Conference Champions | All-SSC Teams
| Previous SSC Women's Tennis Polls |
| Year |
Predicted Winner (Actual Finish) |
Regular Season Champ (Preseason Prediction) |
Tournament Champ (Preseason Prediction) |
| 2020 |
Barry (N/A) |
Not Awarded Due to COVID-19 |
Not Awarded Due to COVID-20 |
| 2019 |
Barry (2nd) |
Lynn (2nd) |
Lynn (2nd) |
| 2018 |
Lynn (2nd) |
Barry (2nd) |
Barry (2nd) |
| 2017 |
Lynn (2nd) |
Barry (2nd) |
Barry (2nd) |
| 2016 |
Barry (T2nd) |
Saint Leo (2nd) |
Lynn (3rd) |
| 2015 |
Barry (1st) |
Barry (1st) |
Barry (1st) |
| 2014 |
Barry (1st) |
Barry (1st) |
Barry (1st) |
ABOUT BARRYU WOMEN'S TENNIS
Barry has been one of the the top teams in NCAA Division II over the last 30+ years. The Bucs have advanced to the NCAA Tournament 28 times, including making the finals seven times. They have won the national championship five times including three-in-a-row and counting (2011, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019). They have had 56 ITA All-Americans and 90 All-SSC players including SSC Players of the Year Barbi Pocza (2011, 2010), Greta Trotman (2005), Gizella Turbok (2002) and Jennifer Araldi (1998).
