The Lenoir-Rhyne Women’s Tennis Team was picked to finish eighth in the 2024 SAC Preseason Women’s Tennis Poll.

For individual accolades, the Bears had two doubles pairs named to the second team. The first duo was freshman Runa Muderrisoglu and senior Alicia Wahlberg. The two won their first collegiate match together against Shaw on Oct. 21, which was a 6-3 result.

Alicia Wahlberg went 13-7 in No. 1 doubles, playing alongside Lucy Whelan in the 2022-23 season. The pair were named First Team All-SAC Doubles.

The second duo was junior Evgeniya Pugina and freshman Nellie Wahlberg. The two won their first collegiate match together against Shaw on Oct. 21, which was a 6-1 result. Pugina went 7-10 in No. 2 doubles in the 2022-23 season

In addition to her doubles recognition, Pugina was also named to first team singles. The Omsk, Russia native posted a 14-3 record in No. 1 singles and was named 2022-23 All-SAC Second Team Singles.

While the two of them were picked together on the same doubles team, Alicia Wahlberg and Muderrisoglu each picked up a spot on third team singles.

Alicia Wahlberg, who mostly competed at the No. 2 singles spot in 2022-23, posted an 11-9 record. The tally marked the second-straight season that Stockholm, Sweden had a winning record in singles.

Muderrisoglu, a native of Duzce, Turkey, won her first collegiate singles match against Shaw on Oct. 21, which was a 6-4, 6-2 victory at the No. 2 singles line.

The Lenoir-Rhyne Women’s Tennis Team will officially resume its 2023-24 campaign on Saturday, Feb. 10 at Mount Olive.

2024 SAC Women’s Tennis Poll

Rank School (First Place Votes) Score
1 Wingate (11) 142
2 Tusculum 119
3 Newberry (1) 106
T-4 Anderson (1) 104
T-4 Catawba 104
6 Limestone 93
7 Carson-Newman 81
8 Lenoir-Rhyne 78
9 Lincoln Memorial 61
10 Coker 50
11 Mars Hill 38
12 UVA-Wise 20
13 Emory & Henry 18
2024 SAC Women’s Tennis Preseason All-Conference
First Team Doubles
Natasha Forrest/Summer Reeves, Carson-Newman
Chloe Kosmrlj/Suzuka Sambyakugari, Wingate
Elodie Baechler/Valentina Loretz, Tusculum

Second Team Doubles
Sofia Hernandez/Ami Miya, Catawba
Runa Muderrisoglu/Alicia Wahlberg, Lenoir-Rhyne
Evgeniya Pugina/Nellie Wahlberg, Lenoir-Rhyne

Third Team Doubles
Sophia Cardenas/Margarita Nikonorova, Newberry
Emma Arnal/Alexa Gamborino-Suarez, Newberry
Anamaria Kiszner-Luca/Monika Temkova, Limestone

First Team Singles
Fernanda Castillo, Wingate
Anita Chornei, Carson-Newman
Anamaria Kiszner-Luca, Limestone
Chloe Kosmrlj, Wingate
Evgeniya Pugina, Lenoir-Rhyne
Suzuka Sambyakugari, Wingate

Second Team Singles
Miya Ami, Catawba
Elodie Baechler, Tusculum
Sofia Cardenas, Newberry
Natasha Forrest, Carson-Newman
Valentina Loretz, Tusculum
Paulina Loretz, Tusculum

Third Team Singles
Ylva Frafjord Landa, Tusculum
Elana Mackey, Mars Hill
Runa Muderrisoglu, Lenoir-Rhyne
Aina Miralles, Newberry
Margarita Nikonorova, Newberry
Alicia Wahlberg, Lenoir-Rhyne

The Lenoir-Rhyne Men’s Tennis Team was picked to finish eighth in the 2024 SAC Preseason Men’s Tennis Poll.

For individual accolades, Vadym Rogynskyi and Rufus Plane were tabbed with second team doubles. Through the first two matches of the 2023-24 season, the pair have won both contests at the No. 1 doubles line.

In the 2022-23 season, the first-year students did not play on the same team. Rogynskyi, a native of Ukraine, mostly competed at the No. 1 line and posted an 8-14 record. Plane, a native of Cardiff, Wales, mostly participated at the No. 2 line and posted a 6-7 record.

Moving onto singles, Zachary Cox was named to the second team. The Peterborough, England native spent most of the 2022-23 season at the No. 1 singles spot.

The junior also earned his first career SAC Men’s Tennis Player of the Week award on Feb. 6, 2023. Cox will look to replicate his 2021-22 season when he marked a 10-4 record in his freshman year.

In addition to his second team doubles honor, Rogynskyi was selected to third team singles. In his first season at LR, the now sophomore mostly competed at the No. 2 singles and posted an 8-13 record.

The Lenoir-Rhyne Men’s Tennis Team will officially resume its 2023-24 campaign on Saturday, Feb. 10 at Mount Olive.

2024 SAC Men’s Tennis Preseason Poll

Rank School (First Place Votes) Score
1 Wingate (12) 144
2 Carson-Newman 125
3 Tusculum 115
4 Anderson 100
5 Limestone 93
6 Lincoln Memorial 90
7 Catawba (1) 82
8 Lenoir-Rhyne 81
9 Newberry 63
10 Coker 48
11 Mars Hill 35
12 Emory & Henry 21
13 UVA-Wise 17
2024 SAC Men’s Tennis Preseason All-Conference
First Team Doubles
Gabriel Constantino/Edis Nokic, Wingate
Luka Brown/Hugo Nossler, Wingate
Florian Walcher/Carlo Rosselini, Wingate

Second Team Doubles
Vadym Rogynskyi/Rufus Plane, Lenoir-Rhyne
Tyler Juergens/Ryan Little, Catawba
Marnix Van Dalen/Lars Horijk, Carson-Newman

Third Team Doubles
Paul Dekester/Sebastian Zabala, Catawba
Tom Lamers/Thibaut Decaluwe, Coker
Harper Mills/Thom Hermans, Lincoln Memorial

First Team Singles
Marcos Castares, Catawba
Gabriel Constantino, Wingate
Marc Janse, Carson-Newman
Edis Nokic, Wingate
Nemanja Subanovic, Tusculum
Florian Walcher, Wingate

Second Team Singles
Zachary Cox, Lenoir-Rhyne
Will Gee, Tusculum
Alexandru Glurea, Lincoln Memorial
Ivan Ivars, Tusculum
Gjorgji Jankulovski, Carson-Newman
Marnix Van Dalen, Carson-Newman

Third Team Singles
Ryan Little, Catawba
Thom Hermans, Lincoln Memorial
Ramiro Rincon Hernandez, Limestone
Vadym Rogynskyi, Lenoir-Rhyne
Samuel Winter, Coker
Andre Zamorano, Limestone