BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – The West Liberty University men's tennis team slotted in at No. 3 on Friday when the Mountain East Conference coaches' released their annual preseason poll.
    Defending champion Charleston has been made a consensus choice to repeat this spring as the Golden Eagles received six of the seven first-place votes. Fairmont State got the remaining first-place vote and holds down the No. 2 spot. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own teams.
    Coach Ronnie Hulewicz's Hilltoppers and West Virginia Wesleyan are seen as the premier threats to the two front-runners, checking in at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. Coach Hulewicz returns several key performers from last year's regionally-ranked squad, led by a trio of All-MEC standouts in NCAA Division II Academic All-District honoree Anton Schulz, sophomore Gianluca Gerndt and second-year freshman Isfandiyor Makhumudov.
    West Virginia State, Davis & Elkins and Frostburg State complete the seven-team list.
    The Hilltoppers will see their first action of the spring semester on Saturday when they travel to Kentucky for a preseason exhibition against NCAA Division I Bellarmine. West Liberty opens the regular season on the road Feb. 5 when the Black and Gold make the trek to Wooster, Ohio for matches against Ashland and Wooster.
  Team                                         Pts
1. Charleston (6)                      36
2. Fairmont State (1)               30
3. WEST LIBERTY                      23
4. W.Va. Wesleyan                   22
5. W.Va. State                           16
6. Davis & Elkins                       12
7. Frostburg State                    8