Barry Tabbed as SSC Women’s Tennis Favorite
The reigning national champions seek their 17th SSC title.
A.J. Vazquez, Communications Contractor
MELBOURNE, FLORIDA - Barry University was tabbed as the preseason favorite for the 2026 Sunshine State Conference women’s tennis season following a vote of the league’s ten head coaches. The Buccaneers totaled 81 points and secured all nine possible first-place votes, as coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.
Barry enters the season as the league’s top-ranked team for the 11th time. The nine-time national champions will look to capture their 17th SSC Tournament title while making another return to the NCAA Division II Women’s Tennis Championship. A competitive field of conference opponents will challenge the reigning SSC champions for the league’s top spot.
The 2025 national runner-up, Nova Southeastern University, was elected to finish second with 71 points and one vote for first. After winning the national championship in 2024, the Sharks fell to Barry by identical 4-3 scores in both the SSC Tournament and NCAA championship matches the following season. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University was picked to finish third with 64 points, followed by Lynn University in fourth with 56 points. Lynn won the 2024 regular-season title before falling to Barry in the conference tournament championship match.
Florida Southern College leads the middle of the poll in fifth with 48 points, while Rollins College and Saint Leo University follow in sixth and seventh, respectively. Rounding out the poll are the University of Tampa in eighth (22 points), Palm Beach Atlantic University in ninth (15), and Eckerd College in 10th (14).
Five teams enter the 2026 season ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Women’s Preseason Top 25. Barry and Nova Southeastern open their seasons as the No. 1 and 2 teams in Division II, respectively. Embry-Riddle is No. 7, Florida Southern is No. 12, and Lynn is No. 20.
The 2026 Sunshine State Conference Women's Tennis Championship will be played at the NSU Tennis Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from Friday, April 24th through Sunday April 26th.
Below are the full results of the 2026 SSC preseason coaches' poll. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their teams (points: 7-6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses).
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2026 SSC Women’s Tennis Preseason Coaches Poll
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Place
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Team
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Total
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1
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Barry
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81 (9)
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2
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Nova Southeastern
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71 (1)
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3
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Embry-Riddle
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64
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4
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Lynn
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56
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5
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Florida Southern
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48
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6
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Rollins
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42
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7
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Saint Leo
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37
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8
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Tampa
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22
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9
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Palm Beach Atlantic
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15
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10
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Eckerd
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14
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SSC Women’s Tennis History: National Championships | Conference Champions | All-SSC Teams
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Previous SSC Women’s Tennis Polls
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Year
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Predicted Winner
(Actual Finish)
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Regular Season Champ (Preseason Prediction)
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Tournament Champ (Preseason Prediction)
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2025
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Barry (1st)
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Barry (1st)
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Barry (1st)
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2024
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Barry (T2nd)
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Lynn (T2nd)
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Barry (1st)
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2023
|
Barry (1st)
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Barry (1st)
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Barry (1st)
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2022
|
Barry (1st)
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Barry (1st)
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Barry (1st)
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|
2021
|
Barry (1st)
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Barry (1st)
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Barry (1st)
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2020
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Barry (N/A)
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Not Awarded Due to COVID-19
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Not Awarded Due to COVID-19
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2019
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Barry (2nd)
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Lynn (2nd)
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Lynn (2nd)
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2018
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Lynn (2nd)
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Barry (2nd)
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Barry (2nd)
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2017
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Lynn (2nd)
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Barry (2nd)
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Barry (2nd)
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2016
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Barry (T2nd)
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Saint Leo (2nd)
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Lynn (3rd)
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2015
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Barry (1st)
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Barry (1st)
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Barry (1st)
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2014
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Barry (1st)
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Barry (1st)
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Barry (1st)
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