Carmel, IN - The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) announced the results of the Men's Tennis preseason poll, with the reigning HCAC Champion Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Fightin' Engineers predicted, in a vote amongst league coaches, to repeat as HCAC Champions in 2026.

The Anderson University Ravens are predicted to vie for the title, but ultimately the coaches have the Ravens in second place in the preseason poll.  If the coaches' predictions are correct, the Engineers and Ravens would end 2026 in the same order they did a year ago. Transylvania University, Earlham College and Hanover College round out the predicted top five finishers this spring.
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Fightin' Engineers – Predicted Finish = First Place with 42 poll points and seven first place votes.

It is easy to understand why the Fightin' Engineers are expected to have a strong performance this spring. Coach Matt Wilson returns a formidable lineup, stacked with five returning HCAC All-Conference honorees.  Two of those five, Tim Eckermann (Munich, Germany) and Ervin Perkowski (Lincolnshire, IL) were First-Team All-HCAC honorees.  Teammates Ephraim Guthrie (Reston, VA), Chris Lian (Bloomington, IN) and Eli McIntyre (Avon, IN) were voted as 2025 All-HCAC Honorable Mention players.  With three of those five athletes being sophomores, we should expect the Engineers to be strong conference contenders for the next few years. In addition to the five returning All-HCAC players, Coach Wilson also expects positive contributions from Brazilian Joao Henrique Nossar (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).
 
Anderson University Ravens – Predicted Finish = 2^nd Place with 40 poll points and one first place vote. 

Coach Scott Greve hopes that his Ravens have the right formula to upset Rose-Hulman this year.  The team will be led by a trio of Latin American All-HCAC returners. Martin Suarez (Quito, Ecuador) and Arturo Mendoza (Monterrey, Mexico) were both All-HCAC First Team award recipients in 2025.  Pedro Sette (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) returns after an Honorable Mention campaign last year. 
In addition to those three athletes, Greve is hoping for strong contributions from Davis Borders, a junior from Granger IN and three young talents in Ezekiel Bergen (Poland, IN), an incoming freshman, and second year players Luis Guerrero (Puebla, Mexico) and Santiago Terbonati (Villa General Belgrano, Argentina).
 
Transylvania University Pioneers – Predicted Finish = 3^rd Place with 33 poll points.

The Transylvania University Pioneers will have a new coach at the helm this year as long time Pioneers women's head coach Bill Carey slides over to coach on the men's side of the net. Coach Carey will be able to depend on three returning First Team All-HCAC players: Jacob Jiranek, Jr. (Elizabethtown, KY), Chase Moreman (Elizabethtown, KY) and Ravi Tedeschi (Louisville, KY).

Carey is also hoping for helpful contributions from three other players.  Two of those players are from Kentucky. Chris Kaufmann is a Senior from Louisville and Luke Earlywine is a Junior from Paris, Kentucky.  Tobias Mandeville from Gallatin, TN should also score lots of points for the Pios throughout the season.
 
Earlham College Quakers – Predicted Finish = 4^th Place with 24 poll points.

Like coach Carey, Earlham Coach Jacob Freeland is also coaching both the men's and women's team at the college for the first time this spring, after previously coaching on the women's side. Freeland's Quakers are hoping to follow up an impressive 2025 season with greater success this spring. The Quakers will rely on two First Team all-conference returners. Ivan Wularu, a Junior from Kumasi, Ghana and Dreek Saha, a sophomore from Mumbai, India. In addition to Wularu and Saha, a quartet of other talented Quakers should provide Earlham with enough depth to stay competitive throughout the season and make a run towards the top of the standings: Ryan Fox (Nassau, Bahamas), Juan Diego Pachon Hernandez, (Villavicencio, Columbia),  Zinedine Arva Purbo (Jakarta, Indonesia) and Dev Agrawal, (Tiruvallur, India).
 
Hanover College Panthers – Predicted Finish = 5^th Place with 23 poll points.

Like so many other teams in the HCAC this spring, Hanover will rely on a roster full of talented international student-athletes. Jake Fascione (Poole, United Kingdom) and Sebastian Vogel (Rottenburg, Germany) return after successful 2025 campaigns in which they both made the HCAC All-Conference team. Fascione was a first team selection and Vogel received honorable mention honors.
 
In addition to those two standouts, Head Coach Eric LaRue will look to two Brazilians (Lucas Silveria Porto Alegre and Rogerio Caldeira) to help fuel competitive play for the Panthers.  Hanover also expects positive contributions from Francisco Miguez Pacheco (Manacor, Spain) and Leon Ludvigsson (Nordstrand, Norway).
 
Franklin College Grizzlies – Predicted Finish = 6^th Place with 17 poll points. 

Coach Ryan Hammer's Franklin College Grizzlies will lean heavy on 2025 HCAC honorable mention honoree Marcus Cox. The junior from Plainfield, Indiana should receive admirable help from his fellow Junior classmate Jaden Wells from Jeffersonville, Indiana.  Also look for Avon, Indiana's Clark Hersam, a sophomore, to score some valuable points in HCAC play.
 
Manchester University Spartans – Predicted Finish = 7^th Place with 11 poll points.

Like the Grizzlies, the Manchester Spartans also feature a roster full of talented players from Indiana. Two All-HCAC honorable mention athletes headline that list in Henry Blakley (Zionsville, IN) and Andrew Guerre (Kokomo, IN). In addition to Blakely and Guerra, Andrew Schrier, from Avon, IN and Rabon Forrest from nearby Fort Wayne, IN should add admirable assistance in trying to improve the Spartans position in the conference standings.
 
Berea College Mountaineers – Predicted Finish = 8^th Place with six poll points.

Senior Nathan Jiang hopes to improve the Mountaineers win-loss totals this spring. The senior played at number two singles behind the formidable departing graduate, Bogdan Petric during the 2025 season.  Jiang will now be expected to lead the Mountaineers this season. Head coach Rich Dodd can also count on some consistent play from Bradley Green a sophomore from Morristown, Tennessee.
 
For more information on HCAC Men's Tennis, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the HCAC's home on the internet at www.heartlandconf.org. Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference news by following @HCACDIII on Twitter and by liking the "HCAC DIII" Facebook page.