KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 2025-26 NAIA Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll released Wednesday afternoon, and the Loyola Wolf Pack checked in at No. 23. Loyola entered the NAIA top 25 on February 26 and has been ranked in six consecutive polls.
Loyola's men's team is coming off of a semifinal finish at the 2025 SSAC Championship, where the Pack lost to Carey to finish the year with an 8-10 overall record, 3-3 in conference play. The team would eventually close the season ranked No. 23 in the NAIA Top 25, taking that ranking into the 2026 spring season.
Defending NAIA champion Keiser took the top spot in the NAIA preseason poll with nine first-place votes, followed by Georgia Gwinnett with three. Tennessee Wesleyan, Southeastern (Fla.), and Lindsey Wilson round out the top five, with SSAC school William Carey coming in at No. 6.
[Full NAIA Preseason top 25 list]
Most heavy contributors are back from the 2024-25 season, including five of the Pack's top six singles players. Graduate student Samuel Motazed, who mainly played in doubles, returns for a fifth year in New Orleans. He's joined by seniors Hippolyte de Preville, Sam Izrael, and Spencer Matz, juniors Martin Ashworth and Daniel Perez, and sophomores Alfredo Gallegos and Jett Nguyen.
Newcomers to the roster are freshmen Luca Abati and Patrick Teuteberg, as well as Samuel Marin, a graduate student who previously competed with the Wolf Pack from 2018-2021.
Loyola recently competed in two tournaments in the fall, the ITA Gulf Regional and Dillard University's invitational, with some impressive results in the latter tournament. The doubles pairing of Marin and Izrael debuted at the Dillard tournament and won three matches to claim the title. Matz also played well at Dillard in the singles B draw, winning four straight matches in the weekend.
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