THOMASVILLE, N.C. -- Anderson College is once again on top of the men's tennis preseason poll as voted on by CVAC coaches. Anderson head coach Brett Simpson is confident his team can win its fourth straight CVAC regular-season title and make a bigger impact on the national scene this spring even though there are several new players on the AC roster. The Trojans were 17-7 overall and 10-0 in the CVAC last spring bumping their undefeated regular season record to 30-0 in the last three seasons. Since joining the CVAC in 1999, Anderson is 56-3 in conference play. The Trojans, who were ranked No. 20 in the ITA national poll last fall, have not lost a CVAC match since the 2001 season. "We lost four players from last year's team, so we've got a lot of new players," Simpson said. "It's a tough situation replacing players on a winning team, but we've got some new guys who performed well in the fall." At the top of the list is sophomore Philippe Magat, a newcomer who played No. 1 for the Trojans last fall. He is ranked No. 39 in the nation in singles entering the spring. "Philippe had a good fall and established himself as our No. 1 player," Simpson said. "I never expect a new player to come in and play No. 1 right off the bat, but he proved himself through the fall. He will be a tough competitor in our region." Simpson says the strength of this year's team is depth. "We're solid throughout the lineup," he said. "We have several players who can play all the positions. We've got a real solid team with no weaknesses." Barton College and Lees-McRae College tied for second place in the coaches' poll. Barton returns seven players with top six CVAC experience, led by sophomores Brent Ching and Nikola Andjelic. Sixth-year head coach Marc Walters also welcomes back All-CVAC performer Ewout Hinnen after a year layoff and two new freshmen for the spring. The Bulldogs will look to improve on their #33 national ranking and 21-9 (8-2 CVAC) record of a year ago. "This team has a nice mix of experience and talent, despite being very young," said Walters. "We expect to improve as the season goes along and then we can settle in on our lineup." Lees-McRae College tied for second place in the preseason poll. The Bobcats look for revenge as their 2004 season fell just short of the both the CVAC regular season and tournament titles. After concluding the fall ranked 24th in the Division II national poll, the Bobcats will be led by seniors Felipe Castanheira, Shane Horan and Andrew Zarb. Rounding out the team for Lees-McRae is sophomore Eckhardt van der Linde from South Africa and the addition of freshman Nathan Spunda from the Netherlands. Rounding out the men's tennis preseason poll 4-11 were: Mount Olive, Erskine, Queens, Limestone, Pfeiffer, Coker, St. Andrews, and Belmont Abbey respectively. CVAC Men's Tennis Pre-Season Coaches Poll (1st place votes in parenthesis) 1. Anderson College (10) 100 T2. Lees-McRae College (1) 84 T2. Barton College 84 4. Mount Olive College (1) 68 5. Erskine College 62 6. Queens University of Charlotte 48 7. Limestone College 43 8. Pfeiffer University 34 9. Coker College 31 10. St. Andrews Presbyterian College 30 11. Belmont Abbey College 21