MELBOURNE, Fla. – Officials from the Sunshine State Conference office released on Friday the results of the 2019 Preseason SSC Women's Tennis Coaches Poll, projecting Nova Southeastern at No. 4 as voted on by the league's coaches.
Ranked at No. 8 nationally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), the Sharks garnered 73 points in the poll entering the third year under head coach
Doug Neagle. Two-time defending national champion Barry received 100 total votes and 10 first-place votes to again take the top spot in the poll. Lynn finished second in the poll with 90 points and collected the remaining first-place vote. Saint Leo University followed in third place with 80 points.
"We keep talking about as a team is really, truly staying in the present moment and not looking past any team - Don't look past any team and just try to get better every single day," Neagle said. "It's just exciting to see the veterans meshing so well with these newcomers."
Including NSU, the top four teams in the SSC poll are all represented in the ITA Top-10.
"I really like our schedule this year. Our schedule naturally is going to be tough because there's no debate about it that the Sunshine State Conference is the toughest Division II tennis conference in the country," Neagle said. "We welcome the challenge."
The Sharks went 9-15 and 5-5 in conference matches last season while bogged down by untimely injuries. Through the fall, including the ITA South Region Championships, NSU won 68 percent of its team matches, including victories in 33-of-51 overall singles matches and 17-of-23 doubles matches. At ITA in Lakeland, Fla. in late September, the Sharks debuted with two representatives in the singles semifinal, senior
Ana Navas going on to the final, while Navas teamed with junior
Daniela Obando to reach the doubles semifinal. The Sharks' lineup features five returning players and five newcomers.
Navas and Obando are listed as the No. 12 doubles pair in the latest ITA rankings, while Navas and freshman
Natalie Espinal rank at No. 9 and No. 13 in singles, respectively.
The Sharks kick off their season on Feb. 3 in St. Augustine, Fla. traveling to meet No. 25 Flagler out of the Peach Belt Conference.
Below are the full results of the 2019 SSC preseason coaches' poll. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their teams (points: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses).
| 2019 SSC Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches Poll |
| Rank |
School (FPV) |
Total Points |
| 1 |
Barry (10) |
100 |
| 2 |
Lynn (1) |
90 |
| 3 |
Saint Leo |
80 |
| 4 |
Nova Southeastern |
73 |
| 5 |
Florida Southern |
64 |
| 6 |
Rollins |
58 |
| 7 |
Embry-Riddle |
37 |
| 8 |
Tampa |
36 |
| 9 |
Florida Tech |
29 |
| 10 |
Palm Beach Atlantic |
28 |
| 11 |
Eckerd |
10 |
