By: Jake Miller
HARTSVILLE, S.C.- The Coker men's tennis team was picked eighth in the South Atlantic Conference preseason poll, the league announced today.
Defending tournament champion Queens took the top spot in the poll with 135 points. To see the full South Atlantic Conference preseason release, click here.
Billy Simpson's men's squad finished the 2016 season with eight wins including a 6-5 mark within the SAC. The Cobras qualified for the South Atlantic Conference championships before falling to the eventual tournament champions in the first round.
"I expect it to be a tough season, we are going to fight our way though it," said Simpson.
Simpson differentiated between the team's performance goals and outcome goals.
"One of our outcome goals is to reach the conference tournament, pick up some wins there, make it to regionals and play solid tennis from there," said Simpson.
The squad returns one All-Conference selection in junior Mark Watt.The Glasgow, Scotland native was selected to the preseason All-SAC singles second team. Watt played every match for the Cobras in both singles and doubles, notching nine singles wins as well as a 13-7 doubles record going 8-3 in conference. He along with doubles partner Tom Sizeland was named to the All-SAC second team for doubles. This was Watt's second consecutive All-SAC selection, as he was named to the honorable mention squad as a freshman.
"Having played doubles with a senior and being an All-Conference selection last year, Mark has the experience for the rest of the team to rely on," said Simpson.
Simpson spoke highly of his new men's team captain in junior Simon Bergbom. Bergbom played No. 5 singles and No. 3 doubles in 2015-2016. He picked up seven singles wins including a 6-5 record in conference play. He also posted six doubles wins during the season.
"He is the emotional leader who stepped into the captaincy role quite well," said Simpson.
The Cobras open their 2017 season with back-to-back non-conference opponents when they host Francis Marion on Feb. 1 and travel to Erskine on Feb. 4. Conference play begins Feb. 5 when the Cobras host Brevard, before a two-day tournament (Feb. 10-11) with several other teams in the region. The Cobras conclude the opening month of the season with a home match against Newberry (Feb. 25) and Pfeiffer (Feb. 26) on consecutive days. The men open the month of March hosting Belmont Abbey in a non-conference match (Mar. 4) before jumping back in to SAC competition hosting Carson-Newman (Mar. 11). They follow it up with a four-match SAC road trip, with matches at Catawba (Mar. 14), Anderson (Mar. 21), Tusculum (Mar. 26) and Lenoir-Rhyne on April 1. Lincoln Memorial comes to Hartsville on Apr. 2, before the Cobras final road trip of the regular season to Mars Hill (Apr. 4). The regular season concludes with home matches against Wingate and Queens on back-to-back days (Apr. 8-9).
"In April we will face some of the top competition in the conference and the region. We have to be prepared to start the season well but also to finish it well," said Simpson.
To view the full video with Head Coach Billy Simpson, click here.
The Cobras open the season when they host Francis Marion on Wednesday February 1 at the Coker Tennis Courts. First serve is set for 2:00 p.m.