CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Results of the 2024 American Rivers Conference Men's Tennis Preseason Poll (as voted on by the league's head coaches): 
 

2024 American Rivers Conference Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll
Rank	School (1st place votes)	Points	2022-23 Record
1.	Luther (8)	64	19-8 overall, 8-0 A-R-C (Conference Champions)
2.	Coe (1)	57	15-10 overall, 7-1 A-R-C
3.	Central	47	12-11 overall, 6-2 A-R-C
4.	Wartburg	43	13-20 overall, 5-3 A-R-C
T-5.	Loras	34	12-8 overall, 4-4 A-R-C
T-5.	Nebraska Wesleyan	34	4-8 overall, 3-5 A-R-C
7.	Buena Vista	18	0-10 overall, 0-8 A-R-C
8.	Dubuque	17	3-15 overall, 1-7 A-R-C
9.	Simpson	10	4-13 overall, 2-6 A-R-C

The Luther College Norse are the coaches' choice to win the 2023-2024 American Rivers Conference Men's Tennis title. The Norse have won three consecutive conference titles 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. Central debuts at No. 3 in the coaches' poll, earning 47 points, and Wartburg picked up 43 points to put them at the No. 4 spot. The Duhawks and Prairie Wolves each tallied 36 points to put them at the No. 5 spot. Buena Vista, Dubuque, and Simpson finished seventh, eighth, and ninth, respectively.

The Schedule: The 2023-24 spring season officially kicks off in the American Rivers Conference this weekend with Central College taking on Bethel University on Saturday in Rochester, Minnesota. Coe College also gets on the court this Saturday when they host Iowa Central Community College. Loras College will begin their spring campaign on February 2nd when they travel to Winona, Minnesota to take on Saint Mary's (Minn.). Three more A-R-C members will begin on February 3rd. University of Dubuque will go to Madison, Wisconsin to compete against Edgewood College. Luther College heads to Clinton, Iowa to take on Wabash College. While Wartburg College is set to compete in Bloomington, Minnesota against Wisconsin-Superior and Bethel. Nebraska Wesleyan University will not begin their spring campaign until March 16th when they head to Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. 

Simpson begins their season as they kick off A-R-C play at Luther on February 10th. The Norse will host the Duhawks on February 24th. March 23rd the Kohawks and Knights begin their conference slate as they face each other in Cedar Rapids. The final three A-R-C teams kick off their 2024 conference schedule on April 3rd. The Dutch will host Nebraska Wesleyan and Dubuque will travel to Decorah to face Luther.

Conference Tournament: The 2024 American Rivers Conference NCAA Automatic Qualifier Tournament will be in April. The first round will be on Tuesday, April 30th, semifinals on Thursday, May 2nd, and the championship on Saturday, May 4th. 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.
 

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1st		Luther College Head Coach: Adam Strand (13th season, 206-92 overall record) 2022-23 Conference Finish: 1st 2022-23 Record: 19-8 Overall, 8-0 A-R-C All-Conference Returning: Max Loen (Sr.), Ricky Portilla (Jr.), Luke Westholder (Jr.), Eli Young (Jr.), Felipe Biscaro (So.), Abhay Chhabra (So.) All-Conference Lost: Marvin Kuehnelt, Francisco Navarrete Adam Strand - "We are excited for another season of A-R-C competition and look forward to the opportunities and challenges ahead."
	Players to Watch: (Returners Only)	2022-23 Record
	Max Loen (Sr.)	17-8 Singles; 25-4 Doubles
	Ricky Portilla (Jr.)	14-4 Singles; 17-10 Doubles
	Luke Westholder (Jr.)	26-6 Singles; 24-4 Doubles
	Eli Young (Jr.)	3-2 Singles; 14-7 Doubles
	Felipe Biscaro (So.)	21-8 Singles; 4-8 Doubles
	Abhay Chhabra (So.)	14-10 Singles; 14-12 Doubles

  

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2nd		Coe College Head Coach: Eric Rodgers (35th season, 613-231 overall record) 2022-23 Conference Finish: 2nd 2022-23 Record: 15-10 Overall, 7-1 A-R-C All-Conference Returning: Graham Peterson (), Ivan Burt-Smith (), Grant Idoux (), Isaac Hinze () All-Conference Lost: Jordan Oaks Eric Rodgers - "Coe returns five starters from 2023 and adds four talented first years to a deep and skilled roster. As we gain experience, and our doubles gel, the Kohawks will be competitive throughout the A-R-C and Central Region."
	Players to Watch: (Returners Only)	2022-23 Record
	Graham Peterson (Jr.)	14-9 Singles; 13-11 Doubles
	Ivan Burt-Smith (So.)	6-11 Singles; 10-11 Doubles
	Alex Palomar (Jr.)	10-12 Singles; 10-11 Doubles
	Grant Idoux (So.)	13-10 Singles; 12-10 Doubles
	Isaac Hinze (So.)	11-9 Singles; 10-8 Doubles

 

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3rd		Central College Head Coach: Ryun Ferrell (10th season, 87-89 overall record) 2022-23 Conference Finish: 3rd 2022-23 Record: 12-11 Overall, 6-2 A-R-C All-Conference Returning: None All-Conference Lost: Trey Melvin, Nick Scott, Caleb Hamerlinck Ryun Ferrell - "We have 19 players out for tennis right now. We have lost some players but replaced them with 12 players. We will be young but tough!"
	Players to Watch: (Returners Only)	2022-23 Record
	Ayden Fletcher (Jr.)	13-11 Singles, 2-4 Doubles
	AJ Wilkins (Jr.)	9-11 Singles, 10-7 Doubles
	Alejo Marcon (So.)	2-0 Singles, 10-7 Doubles

 

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4th		Wartburg College Head Coach: Chris Gustas (8th season, 89-92 overall record) 2022-23 Conference Finish: 4th 2022-23 Record: 13-20 Overall, 5-3 A-R-C All-Conference Returning: Cade Davis (Sr.) All-Conference Lost: Lucas Huffman Chris Gustas - "Wartburg will be a team with some depth and experience. Five returning varsity regulars will lead the way: Cade Davis, Eli Swanstrom, Kyle Sehlin, Jeff Miller, and Josepth Haag. We'll be looking to use February and March to build toward what should be an exciting and competitve A-R-C schedule."
	Players to Watch: (Returners Only)	2022-23 Record
	Cade Davis (Sr.)	8-21 Singles, 18-12 Doubles
	Eli Swanstrom (So.)	9-19 Singles, 11-16 Doubles
	Kyle Sehlin (Jr.)	11-18 Singles, 14-15 Doubles
	Jeff Miller (Jr.)	13-13 Singles, 13-16 Doubles
	Joseph Haag (Jr.)	11-15 Singles, 13-16 Doubles

  

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T-5th		Loras College Head Coach: Cam Long (1st season, 0-1 overall record) 2022-23 Conference Finish: 5th 2022-23 Record: 12-8 Overall, 4-4 A-R-C All-Conference Returning: Thomas Kampmier (Sr.) All-Conference Lost: Kevin Blomquist Cam Long - "This year's team has been extremely competitive in practice. We have a good mix of upperclassmen and underclassmen who are pushing each other to get better. We are looking foward to see what we can accomplish."
	Players to Watch: (Returners Only)	2022-23 Record
	Gage Becker (So.)	13-6 Singles, 8-10 Doubles
	Thomas Kampmier (Sr.)	4-7 Singles, 8-5 Doubles
	Kareem Kassas (Jr.)	13-3 Singles, 6-7 Doubles
	Lucas Healy (So.)	5-4 Singles, 8-11 Doubles

 

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T-5th		Nebraska Wesleyan University  Head Coach: Lee Steinbrook (4rd season, 10-24 overall record) 2022-23 Conference Finish: 6th 2022-23 Record: 4-8 Overall, 3-5 A-R-C All-Conference Returning: Ryan Carey (Sr.) All-Conference Lost: None Lee Steinbrook - "We have our entire team back in tact from last year, and with a nice freshman class with four competing for lineup spots. This should be strongest team we have had yet."
	Players to Watch: (Returners Only)	2022-23 Record
	Ryan Carey (Sr.)	6-3 Singles, 6-6 Doubles

 

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7th		Buena Vista University  Head Coach: Brett Groen (9th season, 26-88 overall record) 2022-23 Conference Finish: 8th 2022-23 Record: 0-10 Overall, 0-8 A-R-C All-Conference Returning: None All-Conference Lost: None Brett Groen - "Excited for this upcoming season, as we are a balanced mix of upperclassmen and underclassmen. We will have three juniors in our top five spots ofthe team and three freshman. Despite our record last year, the team is very focused on what we can bring to the conference this year. We have our sights set on improving daily in our play and our results in the A-R-C. A trip to the tournament is a goal we are shooting for, and if we improve as much in the next few weeks as we did in the fall until now, it is an attainable goal. I truly believe our conference is one of the tougher top to bottom conferences we compete against when we travel to non-conference matches, and I think it's a testament to how good the coaches and players are in the A-R-C right now."
	Players to Watch: (Returners Only)	2022-23 Record
	Dalton Pregon (Jr.)	2-3 Singles, 2-3 Doubles
	Brock Bruns (Jr.)	2-3 Singles, 2-3 Doubles
	Ryan Webb (Jr.)	1-4 Singles, 1-3 Doubles

 

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8th		University of Dubuque Head Coach: Chad Fenwick (1st season, 1-0 overall record) 2022-23 Conference Finish: 8th 2022-23 Record: 3-15 Overall, 1-7 A-R-C  All-Conference Returning: None All-Conference Lost: Bjarne Bachman Chad Fenwick - "We are working hard to improve our conference standing from last year."
	Players to Watch: (Returners Only)	2022-23 Record
	Pedwar Castillo (So.)	1-14 Singles, 1-13 Doubles
	Rashuan Duck (So.)	0-10 Singles, 4-8 Doubles

 

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9th		Simpson College Head Coach: Matt Price (8th season, 31-72 overall record) 2022-23 Conference Finish: 7th 2022-23 Record: 4-13 Overall, 2-6 A-R-C All-Conference Returning: Javier Robles Solis All-Conference Lost: None Matt Price - "Young team with two freshman. Will be exciting to see the young players grow through the challenges we will face with a competitive conference."
	Players to Watch: (Returners Only)	2022-23 Record
	Drake Downard (Jr.)	8-8 Singles, 10-7 Doubles
	Grant Love (So.)	5-10 Singles