Greenville, SC – Conference Carolinas announced the 2022 Women's Tennis Preseason Polls on January 6 with the Erskine Flying Fleet picked first in the polls.
The Erskine Flying Fleet were picked first in the preseason poll with 115 points and seven first place finish votes. Last season, the Flying Fleet went 16-4 and were 9-1 in conference. In the Women's Tennis Championship tournament, they defeated the Belmont Abbey Crusaders 5-1 to advance to the championship. In the championship match against the University of Mount Olive Trojans, Erskine walked away with a 4-3 victory to claim the championship title and advance to the NCAA Regional Tournament. In regionals, the Flying Fleet fell to the University of North Georgia Nighthawks in a 0-4 final to conclude their season.
The Flying Fleet were followed in the poll by the University of Mount Olive Trojans with 108 points and three first place finish votes. The Trojans went 13-2 and were 8-1 in conference action last season. Mount Olive defeated the Emmanuel Lions 4-1 in the semifinals before falling to the Erskine Flying Fleet 3-4 in the championship to end their season. Sitting in third in the preseason poll are the Emmanuel Lions with 94 points. The Lions finished last season with an 11-6 overall record and were 9-1 in conference action. In the Conference Carolinas Tournament, the Lions defeated the Lees-McRae College Bobcats 4-1 before falling to the University of Mount Olive Trojans in the next round 1-4 to conclude their season.
The Belmont Abbey Crusaders were picked fourth in the Conference Carolinas Preseason Poll with 93 points and one first place finish vote. The Crusaders went 8-12 last season and were 6-4 in conference play. In the Conference Carolinas Tournament, Belmont Abbey defeated the Converse Valkyries in the quarterfinals in a 4-1 final. However, they fell to the Erskine Flying Fleet in the semifinals in a 1-5 final score. Behind them are the Barton College Bulldogs with 81 points and one first place finish vote. Last season, the Bulldogs went 8-7 and were 4-6 in conference play. The Bulldogs advanced to the Conference Carolinas Championship Tournament, but fell in the first round to the Converse Valkyries in a 3-4 final score.
In their first year in Conference Carolinas, the Francis Marion Patriots were picked sixth with 68 points. They were followed by the Converse Valkyries (64) and Lees-McRae Bobcats (61). The field was wrapped up by the North Greenville Crusaders (36), Southern Wesleyan Warriors (35), King Tornado (19) and Chowan Hawks (18).
Southern Wesleyan went 6-12 last season and were 4-6 in conference action. The Warriors advanced to the Conference Carolinas Championship Tournament, however they fell in the first round to the Lees-McRae Bobcats in a 2-4 final score. The Warriors return both
Anya King and
Maria Aspasia Kotsiou. King went 5-10 in singles and 4-9 in doubles action last year. Kotsiou was 6-9 in singles and 1-14 in doubles during her freshman season with Southern Wesleyan and earned Athlete of the Week honors during the week of February 10.
The Warriors kicked off their season on October 29 as they took on the Newberry Wolves. However, they fell 0-7 to the Wolves. Southern Wesleyan will start the spring portion of their season in February.
