Conference Carolinas
Brian Hand
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Mount Olive has been chosen as the favorite in the 2020-21 Conference Carolinas Women’s Tennis Preseason Poll and the Men’s Tennis Preseason Poll.
The conference office officially unveiled the preseason polls on Dec. 17, 2020. The preseason poll was voted on by the league’s head coaches.
Mount Olive women’s tennis received a total of 95 points (six first-place votes) to collect the top spot in the preseason poll. According to Conference Carolinas women’s tennis records, Mount Olive is looking for its first regular season title since sharing the crown in 2009. The Trojans also won the Conference Carolinas Women’s Tennis Tournament in 2017.
Erskine received the other five first-place votes and was voted second in the preseason tally with 82 points. Emmanuel (76) was third and they were followed in the preseason poll by Barton (71), Belmont Abbey (70), Chowan (49), Converse (40), North Greenville (39), Southern Wesleyan (36), Lees-McRae (35) and King (12).
The 2021 Conference Carolinas Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships are scheduled for Friday, April 23-Sunday, April 25 at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, South Carolina.
2020-21 Conference Carolinas
Women’s Tennis Preseason Poll
| School | First Place | Total |
| Mount Olive | 6 | 95 |
| Erskine | 5 | 82 |
| Emmanuel | 76 | |
| Barton | 71 | |
| Belmont Abbey | 70 | |
| Chowan | 49 | |
| Converse | 40 | |
| North Greenville | 39 | |
| Southern Wesleyan | 36 | |
| Lees-McRae | 35 | |
| King | 12 |
2020-21 Conference Carolinas Women’s Tennis
Players to Watch
Barton
Marissa Stevenson, Sr., Kirk Michael, Isle of Man (2020 All-Conference Carolinas)
Eimear Maher, Sr., Newbridge, Ireland
Isabella Caballero, Jr., La Paz, Bolivia
Belmont Abbey
Kayla Vaughan, So., Jacksonville, Florida (2020 ITA Southeast Region Rookie of the Year)
Erica Dorn, Sr., Alpharetta, Georgia
Talia Semaan, Sr., Tampa, Florida
Chowan
Olivia Scattini, Fr., Santa Fe, Argentina
Arina Karbolina, Jr., Almaty, Kazakhstan
Converse
Tonya Glogowski-Watson, So., Perth, Western Australia
Anna Klasson, Fr., Sundsvall, Sweden
Marleen Prinz, Fr., Frankenau, Germany
Emmanuel
Maria Raich, Sr., Barcelona, Spain
Erskine
Emma Bentz, Fr., Suwanee, Georgia
Luize Valtere, So., Riga, Latvia
Faith Wright, Jr., Columbia, Missouri
King
Murphy Harr, Sr., Arvada, Colorado
Marilyn Roustand, Sr., Mexico City, Mexico
Lauren Smorgonsky, Jr., Worcester, Massachusetts
Lees-McRae
Sandy Allen, Sr., Saint Johns, Florida
Zeynep Cakirer, Jr., Izmir, Turkey
Tessa Wells, So., Burlington, North Carolina
Mount Olive
Liza Voloshyna, So., Kherson, Ukraine
Bipasha Mehn, Fr., India
Ece Yuksel, Jr., Zonguldak, Turkey
Ingrid Montserrat, So., Tarragona, Spain
North Greenville
Larissa Berger, So., Hartsville, South Carolina
Jhovana Brena, Sr., Estado de Mexico, Mexico
Mitzy Enderink, Fr., Netherlands
Southern Wesleyan
Noemi Aguirre, Sr., Mexico City, Mexico
Mount Olive men’s tennis enters the upcoming season looking for its sixth Conference Carolinas men’s tennis regular season title according to Conference Carolinas records. The Trojans picked up six first-place votes and 62 points in total to earn the top spot. Barton (one first-place) was in second in the preseason poll with 53 points. Belmont Abbey collected two first-place votes and 52 points overall to garner the third spot in the preseason tally.
Emmanuel (41) was fourth in the preseason poll and they were followed by Lees-McRae (28), Southern Wesleyan (27), Chowan (22), North Greenville (22) and King (17).
The 2021 Conference Carolinas Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships are scheduled for Friday, April 23-Sunday, April 25 at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, South Carolina.
2020-21 Conference Carolinas
Men’s Tennis Preseason Poll
| School | First Place | Total |
| Mount Olive | 6 | 62 |
| Barton | 1 | 53 |
| Belmont Abbey | 2 | 52 |
| Emmanuel | 41 | |
| Lees-McRae | 28 | |
| Southern Wesleyan | 27 | |
| Chowan | 22 | |
| North Greenville | 22 | |
| King | 17 |
2020-21 Conference Carolinas Men’s Tennis
Players to Watch
Barton
Diego Agudelo, Jr., Bogata, Colombia (2019 All-Conference Carolinas)
Philip Nordberg, So., Mariefred, Sweden
Oscar Marmestedt, Sr., Akersberga, Sweden (2019 All-Conference Carolinas)
Belmont Abbey
Bailey Horne, Sr., Pikeville, Kentucky
Kent Shiell, Jr., Mandeville, Louisiana
Nelson Stafford, So., Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Chowan
Santino Jose Sormani, So., San Luis, Argentina
Emmanuel
Thembowake Makhanya, So., Durban, South Africa
King
Nathan Snow, Sr., Birmingham, England
Alex Sodre, So., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Andre Ventura Schiabel, Fr., Sao Carlos, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Lees-McRae
Matt Meluch, Sr., Statesville, North Carolina
Jofre Tura-Campalans, Sr., Barcelona, Spain
Benjamin Herman, Jr., Charlotte, North Carolina
Mount Olive
Armando Ferreira, Jr., Goias, Brazil (2019 All-Conference Carolinas, 2018 and 2019 Conference Carolinas Player of the Year, 2018 Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year)
Guilherme Zotin De Oliveira, Fr., Brazil
Victor Nunez, Jr., Guayaquil, Ecuador
Adam Ibrahim, Fr., Cairo, Egypt
North Greenville
Alex Kostka, Sr., Cannes, France
Lucas Cardoso, Fr., Brazil
Tuur Vos, Fr., Belgium
Southern Wesleyan
Sarvesh Maria, Jr., Punjab, India
Peter Kovats, Sr., Bradenton, Florida