Feb. 8, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University tennis teams were selected at the top of the conference preseason tennis polls, announced the Ohio Valley Conference on Friday. The Samford women were predicted to finish first in the conference while the Samford men were said to finish second. The polls are a result of voting by conference coaches.

The Bulldog women almost ran away with the vote as they gathered 77 points to take the top spot. Behind them were Eastern Kentucky (68), UT Martin (62), Murray State (57), Eastern Illinois (56), Jacksonville State (43), Tennessee Tech (40), Morehead State (34), Southeast Missouri (29), Austin Peay (18) and Tennessee State (10).

"It's a great feeling knowing that the conference coaches voted us as the favorite to win the OVC this year," Samford women's head coach David Vest said. "I am sure most of the voting was done based on the previous few year's success, but its good to know that the fellow coaches think we have what it takes to win it all.

"This year's team has a lot of talent, but with six freshman we still have a lot of work to do to earn the top spot in the standings. There is a huge difference between having your spot voted on and actually earning your spot. There are several teams out there with a lot of returning players from last year's squads, so in my opinion it really is an open race for the next few months."

The Samford women earned its first OVC-regular season title and finished as the runner-up in the Conference tournament. The Bulldogs has finished in the top four of the OVC Tournament for the last four years. In 2006, Samford finished the season in second place and went on to win its second OVC tournament title.

Jacksonville State led the men's polls with 68 points with Samford right on their heels with 66 points. Rounding out the men's polls were Tennessee Tech (59), Eastern Kentucky (49), UT Martin (39), Eastern Illinois (34), Morehead State (34), Murray State (27), Austin Peay (17) and Tennessee State (11).

The Samford men have been ever so close to a tournament championship since joining the Ohio Valley Conference in 2004. The Bulldogs were undefeated in OVC play and finished second in the tournament as the top seed in 2005. In both 2006 and 2007, Samford finished third in the season and second in the tournament. This year, the Bulldogs hope to accomplish their dream of championship.

Four Bulldog players were also tagged as favorites in the individual player polls, as voted on by the leagues head coaches. For the women, seniors Anna Jackson and Katie McMiller Weaver were ranked fourth and eighth, respectively in the leagues top 10 players. Senior transfer Jordan Delass was ranked at the top of the top 10 list for the men while senior stand-out Renan Silveira was ranked ninth.

The Bulldogs kick of the 2008 regular season on the road this year as they take on in-state rival Jacksonville State next Thursday, Feb. 13, in Jacksonville, Ala.