CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Results of the 2023 American Rivers Conference Men's Tennis Preseason Poll (as voted on by the league's head coaches):
| 2023 American Rivers Conference Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll |
| Rank |
School (1st place votes) |
Points |
2021-22 Record |
| 1. |
Luther (8) |
64 |
18-10 overall, 8-0 A-R-C (Conference Champions) |
| 2. |
Coe (1) |
57 |
16-9 overall, 7-1 A-R-C |
| 3. |
Wartburg |
47 |
25-9 overall, 6-2 A-R-C |
| 4. |
Loras |
43 |
10-10 overall, 4-4 A-R-C |
| 5. |
Central |
36 |
10-9 overall, 5-3 A-R-C |
| 6. |
Nebraska Wesleyan |
31 |
4-12 overall, 3-5 A-R-C |
| 7. |
Simpson |
18 |
3-12 overall, 2-6 A-R-C |
| 8. |
Dubuque |
16 |
4-14 overall, 0-8 A-R-C |
| 9. |
Buena Vista |
12 |
6-12 overall, 1-7 A-R-C |
The Luther College Norse are the coaches' choice to win the 2022-2023 American Rivers Conference Men's Tennis title. The Norse earned back-to-back conference titles the last two seasons and were chosen first on eight ballots (coaches do not vote on their own team) and earned 64 points to earn the No. 1 ranking. Coe garnered 57 points in the poll and received one first-place vote. Wartburg debuts at No. 3 in the coaches' poll, earning 47 points, and Loras picked up 43 points to put them at the No. 4 spot. The Dutch tallied 36 points to put them at the No. 5 spot and Nebraska Wesleyan picked up 31 points to earn sixth. Simpson, Dubuque, and Buena Vista finished seventh, eighth, and ninth, respectively.
The Schedule: The 2022-23 spring season officially kicks off in the American Rivers Conference this weekend with Central College taking on Bethel University on Saturday in Rochester, Minnesota. Three more A-R-C members will begin their spring campaign on Saturday, February 4
th. Coe College will stay in Cedar Rapids and host Morningside and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Wartburg College will have four matches that weekend against Bethel, University of Wisconsin-Superior, Carroll University, and Lawrence University. The University of Dubuque will head North to Owatonna, Minnesota to take on Concordia University (Minnesota) and University of Northwestern (Minnesota).
The following weekend will see three more A-R-C teams kick off the spring seasons with Luther traveling to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin to take on University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Grinnell College, and Wheaton College. Simpson College will travel to St. Louis, Missouri where they will take on Principia College and Illinois Wesleyan University on Saturday, February 11
th. Loras College will have a match against Elmhurst University as well as the first conference contest against Coe College on Saturday, February 11
th.
Nebraska Wesleyan University will not begin their spring campaign until March 18
th when they host Mount Marty University out of South Dakota.
A-R-C play begins with Loras traveling to Coe on February 11
th and will continue on March 25
th when the Kohawks host the Spartans of University of Dubuque. The remaining teams in the conference will begin conference play on Wednesday, March 29
th. Wartburg heads to Dubuque to take on Loras, Simpson will host the Buena Vista Beavers, the Spartans will host the Norse of Luther, and the Central Dutch will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska to take on the Prairie Wolves.
Conference Tournament: The 2023 American Rivers Conference NCAA Automatic Qualifier Tournament will be in April. The first round will be on Tuesday, April 25
th, semifinals on Thursday, April 27
th, and the championship on Saturday, April 29
th. Each round will be hosted by the higher seeded team. The champion will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Tournament.
| 1st |
|
Luther College
Head Coach: Adam Strand (12th season, 187-84 overall record)
2021-22 Conference Finish: 1st
2021-22 Record: 18-10 overall, 8-0 Conference
All-Conference Returning: Max Loen (Jr.), Luke Westholder (So.), Dylan Wiemers (Jr.), Francisco Navarrete (Sr.)
All-Conference Lost: Nyathi Motlojoa, Joaquim Fernandes
Adam Strand - "We are eager to build on a strong fall season and look forward to competing with the other schools in the A-R-C this spring." |
| Players to Watch: (Returners Only) |
2021-22 Record |
| Luke Westholder (So.) |
11-8 singles // 16-11 doubles |
| Max Loen (Jr.) |
16-12 singles // 28-8 doubles |
| Dylan Wiemers (Jr.) |
18-8 singles // 5-2 doubles |
| Francisco Navarrete (Sr.) |
6-0 singles // 13-13 doubles |
| Eli Young (So.) |
11-15 singles // 5-6 doubles |
| 2nd |
|
Coe College
Head Coach: Eric Rodgers (34th season, 598-221 overall record)
2021-22 Conference Finish: 2nd
2021-22 Record: 16-9 overall, 7-1 Conference
All-Conference Returning: Jordan Oaks (Sr.), Graham Peterson (So.)
All-Conference Lost: Rami Hemaidan, Jon Lansing, Bo Wilson, Nathan Meskell
Eric Rodgers - "We eagerly await the opening of the 2022-23 season. Although Coe suffered heavy losses to graduation, and nearly the entire roster is in their 1st or 2nd year, Coe fields a talented, if inexperienced, lineup. Positive results for our season depend on our doubles play and the leadership of seniors Jordan Oaks & Sam Koeppl." |
| Players to Watch: (Returners Only) |
2021-22 Record |
| Jordan Oaks (Sr.) |
13-9 singles // 12-11 doubles |
| Graham Peterson (So.) |
13-7 singles // 16-4 doubles |
| Alex Palomar (So.) |
9-2 singles // 6-0 doubles |
| 3rd |
|
Wartburg College
Head Coach: Chris Gustas (7th season, 76-72 overall record)
2021-22 Conference Finish: 3rd
2021-22 Record: 25-9 overall, 6-2 Conference
All-Conference Returning: Lucas Huffman (5th Year)
All-Conference Lost: Jackson Eells
Chris Gustas - "Looking at the rosters in our league, the A-R-C schedule may create more tight matches than it has in my time here. I'm excited for a competitive season. Our third place finish last year was the highest it's been since 2016. We bring back some of that team, but some of our depth from last year as well as some new faces have an opportunity to step up into big roles this spring." |
| Players to Watch: (Returners Only) |
2021-22 Record |
| Cade Davis (So.) |
9-11 at #2 singles // 13-6 doubles |
| Kyle Sehlin (So.) |
15-5 at #5/6 singles // 10-7 doubles |
| Jeff Miller (So.) |
7-6 singles // 13-6 doubles |
| Nile Petersen (Jr.) |
10-11 singles // 18-4 doubles |
| Joseph Haag (So.) |
6-6 singles // 8-4 doubles |
| Hunter Gerhardt (5th Year) |
3-4 singles // 5-6 doubles |
| 4th |
|
Loras College
Head Coach: Chad Fenwick (8th season, 76-51 overall record)
2021-22 Conference Finish: 5th
2021-22 Record: 10-10 overall, 4-4 Conference
All-Conference Returning: Kevin Blomquist (5th Year), Thomas Kampmier (Jr.), Konnor Barth (5th Year)
All-Conference Lost: None
Chad Fenwick - "We have a nice balance of experienced upperclassmen and young talented guys." |
| Players to Watch: (Returners Only) |
2021-22 Record |
| Kevin Blomquist (5th Year) |
8-11 at #1 singles // 11-9 at #1 doubles |
| Thomas Kampmier (Jr.) |
10-9 at #1 doubles |
| Kareem Kassas (So.) |
8-5 in singles |
| Sean Gelski (Sr.) |
8-8 at #3 doubles |
| Eian Coad (Sr.) |
15-1 at #5/6 singles |
| 5th |
|
Central College
Head Coach: Ryun Ferrell (9th season, 75-78 overall record)
2021-22 Conference Finish: 4th
2021-22 Record: 10-9 overall, 5-3 Conference
All-Conference Returning: None
All-Conference Lost: Tanner Finken
Ryun Ferrell - "We are very excited here at Central. Not losing a lot and adding some solid pieces. We believe that the sky's the limit as to what this team can do." |
| Players to Watch: (Returners Only) |
2021-22 Record |
| Matt Den Adel (Sr.) |
6-8 singles // 5-5 doubles |
| Trey Melvin (Sr.) |
9-11 singles // 15-8 doubles |
| Caleb Hamerlinck (Sr.) |
4-8 singles // 12-7 doubles |
| 6th |
|
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Head Coach: Lee Steinbrook (3rd season, 6-21 overall record)
2021-22 Conference Finish: 6th
2021-22 Record: 4-12 overall, 3-5 A-R-C
All-Conference Returning: Ryan Carey (Jr.), Will Olson (Jr.), Max Rademacher (Sr.)
All-Conference Lost: None
Lee Steinbrook - "With the entire team returning, we look to improve on last year's season in conference." |
| Players to Watch: (Returners Only) |
2021-22 Record |
| Ryan Carey (Jr.) |
4-10 singles // 7-7 doubles |
| Will Olson (Jr.) |
6-8 singles // 7-7 doubles |
| Max Rademacher (Sr.) |
1-9 singles // 3-8 doubles |
| 7th |
|
Simpson College
Head Coach: Matt Price (7th season, 31-72 overall record)
2021-22 Conference Finish: 7th
2021-22 Record: 3-12 overall, 2-6 Conference
All-Conference Returning: None
All-Conference Lost: None
Matt Price - "Looking forward to seeing the seniors step up as leaders to the younger players. These guys know how to compete which will show our younger players on how to compete the right way." |
| Players to Watch: (Returners Only) |
2021-22 Record |
| Caleb Vasconez (Sr.) |
1-15 at #1 singles |
| Aaron Price (Sr.) |
1-10 at #3 singles |
| Ethan Humble (Sr.) |
7-11 at #4 singles |
| Drake Downard (So.) |
6-9 at #5 singles |
| 8th |
|
University of Dubuque
Head Coach: Dishon Deering (6th season, 8-60 overall record)
2021-22 Conference Finish: 9th
2021-22 Record: 4-14 overall, 0-8 Conference
All-Conference Returning: None
All-Conference Lost: Milan Zivkovic
Dishon Deering - "We are excited to see how our young team will perform in this competitive conference this upcoming season." |
| 9th |
|
Buena Vista University
Head Coach: Brett Groen (7th season, 26-88 overall record)
2021-22 Conference Finish: 8th
2021-22 Record: 6-12 overall, 1-7 Conference
All-Conference Returning: None
All-Conference Lost: None
Brett Groen - "This will be one of those years where we will be really able to focus on individual growth for each player on the team. Because of all kinds of different factors, our team will be small but pack a great punch. With the exception of Brenden, our team will be quite young, with at least 4 of the top 6 players being just sophomores. The experience they already picked up on last year, and so far this year, will only help their competitiveness grow at a faster pace then if they were limited in their court exposure. They will get a lot of playing time on the court for practice and matches this spring, which will only help them in their growth." |
| Players to Watch: (Returners Only) |
2021-22 Record |
| Dalton Pregon (So.) |
Played No. 1 doubles entire freshman year |
| Brenden Schlader (Sr.) |
Won 8 matches at the No. 2 doubles position |
| Brock Bruns (So.) |
Went 8-8 in singles as a freshman |
| Ryan Webb (So.) |
Won 5 matches at No. 5/6 singles as a freshman |
