Guilford Ranked in Preseason ODAC Tennis Polls

Greensboro, NC (3/1/07) -- Guilford College's men's tennis team was ranked sixth in the preseason Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Coaches' Poll released Thursday. The Quakers' women's tennis team earned the number-seven spot in the ODAC's women's preseason poll. The league's head coaches selected the polls.

First-year head coach Bert Poole's Quakers received 48 points in the men's poll. Washington and Lee, the defending ODAC champion, earned all 10 first-place votes and the top spot in the rankings. Guilford returns five letter winners this spring. Junior Jose Ortiz, Guilford's number-one singles player in 2005, and Caleb Kimbrough, the 2005 ODAC champion at third singles, are two of Guilford's key returners. The pair formed the Quakers' top doubles tandem in 2005. Guilford is 1-1 on the year after suffering through an 0-11 campaign in 2006.

Guilford's women's tennis team, under the direction of sixth-year mentor Jenn Anderson '96, returns five letter winners from last year's 10-5 club that placed seventh among 12 teams at the ODAC Tournament. The Quakers earned 57 votes in the preseason poll, which Washington and Lee topped with 121 points and all 11 first-place votes. Junior captain Krystal Parrish, the reigning ODAC Women's Tennis Player of the Week, is back after going 8-9 at fourth singles as a sophomore. Sophomore Nika Botkin is back at first singles and teams with Parrish to form the Quakers' top doubles tandem.

The Quakers' women (1-0) opened their spring schedule last Saturday with a win at Peace College. Both squads host Bridgewater this Saturday (3/3) in their league openers.

2007 ODAC Men’s Tennis Preseason Poll
Place Team Points (first-place votes)
1. Washington and Lee 100 (10)
2. Roanoke 85
3. Virginia Wesleyan 80
4. Hampden-Sydney 58
5. Bridgewater 56
6. Guilford 48
7. Lynchburg 37
8. Emory & Henry 36
9. Randolph-Macon 28
10. Eastern Mennonite 22

2007 ODAC Women’s Tennis Preseason Poll
Place Team Points (first-place votes)
1. Washington and Lee 121 (11)
2. Virginia Wesleyan 93
3. Hollins 89
4. Roanoke 78
5. Bridgewater 75
Emory & Henry 75
7. Guilford 57
8. Randolph-Macon 43
9. Sweet Briar 41
10. Lynchburg 38
11. Randolph-Macon Woman’s 16