Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis Preseason Poll | 2012-13 Schedule | @GWMensTennis | GW Men's Tennis on Facebook

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Heading into the 2013 season in search of its third straight conference championship, the George Washington men's tennis team was predicted to finish second in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll as voted on by the league's 14 head coaches.

The Colonials - who swept the conference post-season awards just one year ago - received two first-place votes and were selected to finish behind A-10 newcomer VCU, which is ranked No. 32 in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). The Rams are coming off of a 2012 Colonial Athletic Conference and their 19^th NCAA Tournament appearance in 21 years. Charlotte was selected to finish behind GW in third and Xavier and Richmond were chosen fourth and fifth, respectively. Temple was chosen to finish sixth and Fordham and Duquesne were tied for seventh. Rounding out the poll were Saint Louis (ninth), Saint Joseph's (10^th), league newcomer Butler (11^th), Dayton (12^th), St. Bonaventure (13^th) and La Salle (14^th).

The two-time defending conference champion, GW enters its 2013 spring campaign after an impressive fall season in which the squad combined for nine upsets over nationally ranked opponents. Under the direction of two-time reigning A-10 Coach of the Year Greg Munoz, the Colonials enter the spring season with two nationally ranked top-100 players, as sophomore Francisco Dias and junior transfer Nikita Fomin debuted at Nos. 76 and 96, respectively, on the first Campbell/ITA Division I Men's National Singles Rankings of the season.

The Colonials lost just two players to graduation last spring and return Dias - the reigning A-10 Performer of the Year and Rookie Performer of the Year - and classmate Mike Kachkar, juniors Viktor Svensson and All-Conference Second Team selection Ulrik Thomsen, and seniors Leonardo Lapentti and All-Conference First Team honoree Alexander van Gils to the lineup. The Buff and Blue also welcome four highly touted newcomers in Fomin, fellow junior transfer Sinan Ipeker, and freshmen Kevin Kovacs and Danil Zelenkov.

GW looks to break into the national rankings this year as their spring slate features seven nationally ranked opponents and three NCAA participants.

The Colonials open their season when No. 70 Cornell comes to the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Va., on Saturday, Jan. 26 for a 5:30 p.m. match.

2013 A-10 Men's Tennis Predicted Order of Finish
1. VCU
2. George Washington
3. Charlotte
4. Xavier
5. Richmond
6. Temple
T-7. Fordham
T-7. Duquesne
9. Saint Louis
10. Saint Joseph's
11. Butler
12. Dayton
13. St. Bonaventure
14. La Salle