TEMPE, Ariz. --- The Tusculum University men's tennis team finished the 2021-22 season ranked 31st in Division II, according to the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Team Rankings which were released following the conclusion of the national championship.
The Pioneers finished with a 13-8 overall record and tied for third place in the South Atlantic Conference with a 9-3 mark. Tusculum defeated Lenoir-Rhyne 4-1 in a SAC quarterfinal match before falling to eventual champion Queens by a 4-2 score in the semifinals. Tusculum was under consideration for an NCAA Division II Championship berth, but was the first team left out of the eight-team Southeast Regional field.
Under first-year head coach Matt Frost, the Pioneers ended the season nationally ranked for the third time in the last four completed seasons and ninth time in program history. Tusculum was ranked 24th at the end of the 2021 campaign and was 26th following the 2018 season for the top two ITA end-of-year rankings for the Pioneers.
Tusculum went 3-4 in matches against teams that were ranked at the time of the contest, and had an overall record of 5-8 against teams that ended the year inside the ITA Top 75.
Joining Tusculum in the team rankings from the SAC were Queens (17th), Anderson (20th), Wingate (24th), Lenoir-Rhyne (30th), Carson-Newman (38th), Limestone (57th) and Lincoln Memorial (67th).
Individually, senior Frank Bonacia was ranked 68th in the final ITA singles rankings after finishing the year with a 17-9 record. Bonacia, a second-team All-SAC selection in singles, went 9-7 in dual matches and 7-5 in conference competition, including a 6-5 mark at flight one. The Rome, Italy native, who ended the year 13th in singles in the Southeast Region, has a 48-19 singles record in three seasons with the Pioneers.
Barry (22-5) finished the season ranked number one after the Buccaneers won their third consecutive national championship. The top singles player in Division II was Alvaro Regalado of Columbus State, while the number-one doubles team was Rodrigo Carvalho and Luca Mack of Valdosta State.
The ITA Rankings Algorithm is based on an accumulation of win points and loss points, accounting for a win-loss record, the strength of schedule, and the depth/significance of wins and losses. As the season progressed, the value of each win and loss was adjusted to reflect the most recent ranking of the opponent.
