Rock Hill, S.C. - After a trip to the NCAA DII Men's Tennis Championships last season and a strong showing in the fall, the Lincoln Memorial University Men's Tennis team has earned the number three spot in the South Atlantic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Railsplitters earned the third-place ranking with 110 points, slotting just behind Catawba and Wingate at the top of the poll. The Splitters ranking is the highest for any team on the poll not receiving a first-place vote.
Along with making the tournament for the first time since 2013, the Railsplitters finished the 2025 season with a 21-5 record and a 9-3 mark in South Atlantic Conference play. The Splitters carried the momentum into the fall season, with strong showings in the LMU Invitational and the ITA Regionals.
To go with their ranking, three Railsplitters were named to the Conference's Players to Watch list, as sophomore Ethan Hirons, junior Radu Florea, and senior Alexandru Rares Giurea were all highlighted by the conference.
LMU begins their season on February 6th, as the Railsplitters host the University of the Cumberlands at 3:00 p.m. The Splitters will open conference competition on the road on February 28th, as LMU will travel to face Anderson.
The full coaches poll and conference players to watch list is listed below. Be sure to check lmurailsplitters.com for updates and information as the season nears.
2026 SAC Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll
Rank School (first place votes) Points
1. Catawba (9) 130
2. Wingate (3) 124
3. Lincoln Memorial 110
4. Carson-Newman 96
5. Lenoir-Rhyne 85
6t. Tusculum 75
6t. Anderson 75
8. Coker 67
9. UVA Wise 61
10. Newberry 46
11. Mars Hill 31
12. Emory & Henry 24
2026 SAC Men's Tennis Preseason Players to Watch
Anderson: Mathis Collignon, Vicent Fenollar, Wynn Shioi
Catawba: Agustin Mastri, Santiago Passoni, Luca Bergonzi
Carson-Newman: Louis Keenan, Darko Kolevski, Leonard Baecker
Coker: Marcio Silve, Lukas Melone, Eduardo Pilia
Emory & Henry: Keenan Glago, Nathan Spurling, Bangalie Turay
Lenoir-Rhyne: Vadym Rogynsyi, Vitor Ferreira, Zeno Godi
Lincoln Memorial: Radu Florea , Alexandru Rares Giurea , Ethan Hirons
Mars Hill: Paul-Antoine Pelzer, Diell Mehmedi, Riccardo Moretti
Newberry: Senthen Reddy, Daniel Watson, Noel Bartz
Tusculum: Will Gee, Angus Howard, Rens Verhaar
UVA Wise: Mustafa Raja, Yi-Hsuan Chen, Miguel De Rueda
Wingate: Carlo Rosellini , Ruben LeBron, Rod De La Torre
