Mount Olive Named Favorite to Win 2017 Conference Carolinas Women's Tennis Championship
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The University of Mount Olive has been voted the preseason favorites to win the 2017 Conference Carolinas Women’s Tennis Championship, the league announced today. The Trojans received two first-place votes and 87 points from conference coaches.
Mount Olive compiled an 11-7 overall record and a 9-2 mark in conference play in 2016.
Erskine College has been selected to finish second in the conference for 2017, receiving 83 points and four first-place votes. The Flying Fleet is coming off a 2016 season that saw it finish 18-6 overall and a perfect 11-0 in conference action. Erskine would sweep the Conference Carolinas regular season and Conference Carolinas Women's Tennis Championship titles, making it 10 regular season titles and 11 tournament championships in the last 12 years.
Limestone College enters the season three points behind Erskine in third with 80 points and two first-place vote. The Saints posted their fifth consecutive year of double-digit victories in 2016 after going 13-9 overall and 9-2 in conference play.
North Greenville University checks in at fourth with 65 points, followed by Pfeiffer University,who garnered one first-place vote, and Belmont Abbey College tied in fifth with 57 points each.
The Crusaders of North Greenville went 8-12 overall in 2016 and 7-4 in Conference Carolinas action. The Falcons posted a 13-6 overall record last season and notched an 8-2 conference mark. The Crusaders of Belmont Abbey finished 2016 7-18 overall and 4-7 in conference.
Barton College received two first-place votes and 55 total points to rank seventh, while Southern Wesleyan University was close behind with 51 points in eighth.
The Bulldogs were 3-17 overall and 1-9 in Conference Carolinas play last season. The Warriors, who enter their first season of postseason eligibility in 2017, went 5-6 in league action and 8-14 overall in 2016.
Rounding out the poll at ninth, 10th and 11th are King University (36 points), Converse College (21 points) and Lees-McRae College (13 points), respectively.
The Tornado were 6-17 overall and 3-8 in conference play last season. The Valkyries turned in a 6-15 overall mark and 2-9 league record, while the Bobcats tallied a 3-13 overall record and 2-9 Conference Carolinas mark.
The 2017 Conference Carolinas women's tennis season begins on Wednesday, Feb. 1.
2017 Women's Tennis Preseason Poll
| School (first-place votes) |
Total |
| 1. Mount Olive (2) |
87 |
| 2. Erskine (4) |
83 |
| 3. Limestone (2) |
80 |
| 4. North Greenville |
65 |
| T5. Pfeiffer (1) |
57 |
| T5. Belmont Abbey |
57 |
| 7. Barton (2) |
55 |
| 8. Southern Wesleyan |
51 |
| 9. King |
36 |
| 10. Converse |
21 |
| 11.Lees-McRae |
13 |
2017 Conference Carolinas Women's Tennis Players to Watch:
Player (Year):
Vanessa Sanoja (So.) - Barton
Dana Kelly (Sr.) - Barton
Aisiri Jandyala (Fr.) - Belmont Abbey
Teagan McNamara (Jr.) - Belmont Abbey
Alex Weber (Jr.) - Belmont Abbey
Kaitlin Knight (Jr.) - Converse
Alex Schlesener (Jr.) - Converse
Rachel Berkey (So.) - Erskine
Mikaela Bennett (Sr.) - Erskine
Molly Polk (Sr.) - Erskine
Marianne Hull (So.) - King
Catherine Vezey (So.) - King
Haley Maloney (Sr.) - King
Mackenzie Langmade (So.) - Lees-McRae
Caroline Green (Sr.) - Lees-McRae
Alexandra Boulbin (Sr.) - Limestone
Gabriela van Ooststroom (Sr.) - Limestone
Hannah Hopkins (Sr.) - Limestone
Kylie Sandusky (So.) - North Greenville
Christina Kiessling (Sr.) - North Greenville
Olivia Nelms (Sr.) - Pfeiffer
Mylene Petitpas (Sr.) - Pfeiffer
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletics conference made up of 12 teams from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. These institutions consist of: Barton College, Belmont Abbey College, Converse College, Emmanuel College, Erskine College, King University, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, University of Mount Olive, North Greenville University, Pfeiffer University, and Southern Wesleyan University. Emmanuel College is currently completing the NCAA Membership Process and will be fully competing in league championships in the near future.