Belmont Abbey Picked to Repeat as Men’s Tennis Champions
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Conference Carolinas men’s tennis head coaches voted on the 2023 Conference Carolinas Men’s Tennis Preseason Poll and Belmont Abbey was selected to repeat as regular-season champions.
The Crusaders, who won the regular-season title last season with a perfect 10-0 record in league play, collected 76 points and seven of 10 first-place votes while 2021 runner-up Mount Olive was picked second with 69 points and the remaining first-place votes. Francis Marion was selected third with 62 points with Emmanuel picked fourth with 57 points.
Barton was fifth with 54 points followed by Lees-McRae (41), Converse (40), North Greenville (23), King (15) and Chowan (13).
The spring season begins on Saturday, Jan. 21 with the conference championship set for April 21-23 at the Dr. Eddie Floyd Florence Tennis Center in Florence, South Carolina.
2023 Conference Carolinas
Men’s Tennis Preseason Poll
| School |
Total (First Place) |
| Belmont Abbey |
76 (7) |
| Mount Olive |
69 (3) |
| Francis Marion |
62 |
| Emmanuel |
57 |
| Barton |
54 |
| Lees-McRae |
41 |
| Converse |
40 |
| North Greenville |
23 |
| King |
15 |
| Chowan |
13 |
2023 Conference Carolinas Men’s Tennis
Players to Watch
Barton
- Johan Holgersson, So., Bromma, Sweden (2022 Third Team All-Conference Carolinas)
- Hannes Tylehed, So., Stockholm, Sweden
- Philip Nordberg, Sr., Mariefred, Sweden
Belmont Abbey
- Nelson Stafford, Sr., Baton Rouge, Louisiana (2022 Second Team All-Conference Carolinas, Conference Carolinas All-Tournament Team; 2021 Second Team All-Conference Carolinas)
- Xaveam Van Wijk, Jr., Willemstad, Curaçao (2022 First Team All-Conference Carolinas)
- Andres Golindano, Jr., Fort Lauderdale, Florida (2022 Conference Carolinas All-Tournament Most Valuable Player)
Chowan
- Santino Jose Sormani, Sr., San Luis, Argentina
Converse
- Merlin Bellet, So., Agde, France (2022 Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year, First Team All-Conference Carolinas)
- Leopold Morel, So., Saintes France
Francis Marion
- Liam Day, Jr., Edenvale, South Africa (2022 First Team All-Conference Carolinas, Conference Carolinas All-Tournament Team)
- Harri Lloyd-Evans, So., Newport, South Wales, United Kingdom (2022 Second Team All-Conference Carolinas)
- Leonel Gonzalez, Jr., Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico
King
- Rhys Halcrow, So., Portland, England
- Andre Schiabel, Jr., Sao Carlos, Brazil
- Alex Sodre, Sr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Lees-McRae
- Max Borisov, So., Sofia, Bulgaria
- Facundo Perlov, Fr., Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Landon Church, Sr., Wilkesboro, North Carolina
North Greenville
- Dean Kingsley, Fr., Duford, Georgia
- Joao Di Salvi, Fr., Valinhos, São Paulo, Brazil
Mount Olive
- Guilherme Zotin de Oliveira, Jr., Rio Claro, Brazil (2021 Second Team All-Conference Carolinas, Conference Carolinas All-Tournament Most Valuable Player)
- Daniel Hammond, Fr., Whangarei, New Zealand
- Israel Rodriguez Rojas, Sr., Guayaquil, Ecuador (2022 All-Tournament Team; 2021 Second Team All-Conference Carolinas, All-Tournament Team)