COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Both Western New Mexico University tennis teams were selected to win the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference this season as chosen by the coaches in the Preseason Poll that was released Friday by the conference office.


On the men's side, WNMU collected five points and five first-place votes, the most they could get without voting for themselves. Montana State Billings held the other first-place vote and was second with 11 points, followed by 13 points for Metro State. WNMU won both the regular season and tournament championships last season, once again advancing to the national tournament.


Rodrigo Almeida (Arapongas, Brazil/Nene Lourenco High School) was again named the Preseason Player of the Year. The junior from Arapongas, Brazil, had a big season last year being named the Preseason Player of the Year and he backed it up by being named the Player of the Year. He went 19-4 last year in his singles matches and was also chosen as the WNMU Scholar Athlete Award winner after being named the RMAC Academic Player of the Year. He went 14-10 in doubles action, playing with both Matthieu Covizzi (Noailly, France/) and Jean Benoit Belin (Nimes, France/Emmanuel d'Alzon High School).


Juan Pablo Fuentes (Guadalajara, Mexico/) was selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team. Fuentes went 12-9 last year in singles action, playing a good portion of the season at No. 2. The sophomore from Guadalajara, Mexico, partnered with Johan Weich (Landskrona, Sweden/Filbornaskolan High School) to go 12-10 during the season, while he also played one doubles match with Covizzi (0-1).

Head coach Guillaume Dupont was named the RMAC Men's Coach of the Year in his first season guiding the team.


On the women's side, the Mustangs were picked to win the conference, along with Colorado Mesa, with both teams collecting eight points. WNMU had more first-place votes with three, compared to two for the Mavericks. Metro State in third with 11 points garnered the other first-place vote. WNMU had an incredible run last year, as they took off in the RMAC Tournament to claim their first-ever conference tournament championship in the 5-4 win over Nebraska-Kearney.


Ganna Tiurina (Kiev, Ukraine/M.M. Gromov #227) was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year after being named the Freshman of the Year last year. The sophomore from Kiev, Ukraine, was a unanimous choice for the First-Team All-Conference in 2012. She partnered with Nikolina Vukadin (Pale, Bosnia and Herzegovina/Sredwjoskolski Centar Pale) and was selected to the First-Team doubles squad with a 12-11 record. In singles action, she went 12-9 with every match taking place at the top flight.


Joining her on the team is fellow sophomore Ashley Newell (Las Vegas, NV/Silverado). Newell from Las Vegas, Nev., played at the No. 3 position last year, going 16-6, which were the most singles victories on the team last year. She partnered with Doris Berberic (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley High School) in doubles to go 10-13 last year.


Both teams will open the season next week in Albuquerque, with the men playing on Saturday, Feb. 2 against the University of New Mexico and Northern Arizona, while the women will open on Sunday, Feb. 3 against the University of New Mexico.


Men's Preseason Poll
 # School (1st Pl. Votes) Points Reg. Season
1. Western New Mexico (5) 5 1st
2. Montana State, Billings (1) 11 3rd
3. Metro State 13 4th
4. Colorado Mesa 16 6th
5. CSU-Pueblo 20 5th
6. Colorado Christian 25 7^th
 
 Preseason All-Conference Team
Rodrigo Almeida (Arapongas, Brazil/Nene Lourenco High School), Western New Mexico
Junior, Arapongas, Brazil
Navin Marimuthu, Montana State Billings
Senior, Chennai, India
Gabriel Vlahos, Metro State
Senior, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Juan Pablo Fuentes (Guadalajara, Mexico/), Western New Mexico
Sophomore, Guadalajara, Mexico
Jordan Lyden, Colorado Mesa
Sophomore, St. George, Utah
Christian Fischer, Montana State Billings
Junior, Berlin, Germany
 
Women's Preseason Poll
 # School (1st Pl. Votes) Points Reg. Season
1. Western New Mexico (3) 8 3rd
Colorado Mesa (2) 8 2nd
3. Metro State (1) 11 4th
4. Colorado Christian 21 6th
5. CSU-Pueblo 22 5th
6. Montana State, Billings 23 7^th
 
Preseason All-Conference Team
Ganna Tiurina (Kiev, Ukraine/M.M. Gromov #227), Western New Mexico
Sophomore, Kiev, Ukraine
Cara Cromwell, Metro State
Freshman, Fort Collins, Colo.
Kaylee Davis, Colorado Mesa
Junior, Abilene, Texas
Kara Williams, Colorado Christian
Junior, Jonesboro, Arkansas
Ashley Newell (Las Vegas, NV/Silverado), Western New Mexico
Sophomore, Las Vegas, Nevada
Alicia Holm, Metro State
Senior, Las Vegas, Nevada