Asbury (Ky.) chosen as 2019 RSC Men's Tennis Coaches' Preseason Poll favorite
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio -- Asbury (Ky.) University has been chosen as the unanimous favorite in the 2019 River States Conference Men's Tennis Coaches' Preseason Poll. The Eagles, who have won the last two RSC Championships and in three of the last four, received 25 votes in the polling of the league's men's tennis head coaches to top the list of six schools.
Asbury received all five of the possible first-place votes in the balloting. National voters also see the Eagles as the top team in the RSC. Asbury is currently ranked T-No. 23 in the NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll.
IU East came in second in the poll with 20 votes, which was just ahead of IU Southeast in third with 18 votes and the remaining first-place vote. IU East is off to a 6-2 start from the fall and was an RSC semifinalist a year ago. IU Southeast is 1-2 so far this season and met Asbury in the RSC finals last year for the fifth time in a row with titles in 2016 and 2014.
Midway (Ky.) University was picked fourth in the poll with 13 votes. The Eagles have started out the year with a 3-1 record and won a playoff match last year. Brescia (Ky.) University with nine votes and Ohio Christian University with five votes rounded out the poll.
The 2019 RSC Men's Tennis Championship will be held April 26-27 at the Linder Tennis Facility in Mason, Ohio. The six-team, single-elimination tournament will send the champion to the NAIA National Championship May 14-18 at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala.
2019 RSC MEN'S TENNIS COACHES' PRESEASON POLL
(First-Place Votes in Parenthesis)
| School | Votes |
| 1. Asbury (Ky.) (5) | 25 |
| 2. IU East | 20 |
| 3. IU Southeast (1) | 18 |
| 4. Midway (Ky.) | 13 |
| 5. Brescia (Ky.) | 9 |
| 6. Ohio Christian | 5 |