Winthrop Tops 2017 Women's Tennis Preseason Poll
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – For the 14th consecutive year, Winthrop University has been voted the preseason favorite in the annual Big South Conference women’s tennis preseason poll by the league’s head coaches, the conference office announced Tuesday.
Winthrop, which has won a league-record 18 women’s tennis championships, claimed the top spot in the poll with seven first-place votes and 79 points, ahead of last year’s co-regular-season champion and tournament runner-up Liberty, which garnered 72 points (one first-place votes). Charleston Southern finished third in the poll with 65 points and collected the remaining first-place nod.
Campbell was voted fourth with 53 points, while Radford and UNC Asheville tied for fifth-place in the poll with 37 points each. Gardner-Webb followed in seventh (27 points), with Presbyterian College predicted eighth (24 points). Longwood finished ninth with 11 points to round out the poll.
The 2017 Big South women’s tennis season begins this weekend with three matches scheduled. The 2017 Big South Women’s Tennis Championship is slated for April 20-23 at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex on the campus of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.
2017 Women's Tennis Preseason Poll
| Rk - School (first-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 - Winthrop (7) |
79 |
| 2 - Liberty (1) |
72 |
| 3 - Charleston Southern (1) |
65 |
| 4 - Campbell |
53 |
| T-5 - Radford |
37 |
| T-5 - UNC Asheville |
37 |
| 7 - Gardner-Webb |
27 |
| 8 - Presbyterian College |
24 |
| 9 - Longwood |
11 |