ROCK HILL, SC – The UVA Wise women's tennis team has been picked to finish ninth in the South Atlantic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, conference officials announced earlier today. In addition,
Mustafa Raja,
Yi-Hsuan Chen and
Miguel De Rueda have been named Players to Watch.
The team finished ninth in the voting with 61 points. Leading the way in the poll is Catawba, followed by Wingate.
Raja is currently undefeated on the season in singles (3-0) and is 2-1 in doubles coming into the Spring. Last saason he was 7-9 in both singles and doubles play.
Chen, a former SAC Freshman of the Year, was 2-0 in singles and 0-2 in doubles during the Fall.
De Rueda had a 1-1 singles and 2-0 doubles record in the Fall. He is the top returner from last season, where he had a 13-8 singles and 8-14 doubles record.
The team will open their second season under Head Coach
Alex Hunt Feb. 7-8 when they play a pair of former Mountain East Conference rivals (Fairmont State and West Virginia State) in Charleston, West Virginia.
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| 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 |
