Ball State University Athletics
Men's Tennis Picked First in MAC Preseason Poll
January 31, 2012 | Men's Tennis
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State men's tennis program has been picked the Mid-American Conference preseason favorite in the poll released by the conference office.
"We return most of our team from last year's Tournament Championship team so I am sure that was a big factor in being picked as favorites," said head men's tennis coach Bill Richards. "We all know it doesn't mean anything on match day. Plus we will be playing this year without Cliff Morrison, last year's tournament MVP who will sit out this year with an injury. I think there are five teams in the league that can all beat each other so it will be a challenging conference season."
The Cardinals are the 2011 defending MAC Tournament Champions. Ball State welcomes back ten letterwinners from last year's squad including junior Dalton Albertin who was named First Team All-MAC for the first time in his career and was also named to the All-MAC Tournament team in 2010. Senior Cliff Morrison garnered Second Team All-MAC honors for the third straight season. Morrison also received The Most Outstanding Player of the MAC Tournament Award along with being voted to the All-MAC Tournament team for the 2011 season joining teammate junior Austin Sansone.
The Ball State men's tennis team takes on Xavier in spring non-conference action Saturday in Cincinnati at 1 p.m.
The 2012 MAC Men's Tennis Tournament is scheduled for April 26-28 in Toledo, Ohio.
The complete voting totals are as follows with five of the six head coaches casting votes.
2012 MAC Men's Tennis Preseason Poll:
1. Ball State (28)
2. Western Michigan (25)
3. Buffalo (22)
4. Northern Illinois (13)
5. Toledo (12)
6. Chicago State (5)
(total points based on 6 for a first place vote; 5 for second place, etc.)
First place votes: Ball State (5).
Tournament winner votes: Ball State (3).
