The Midwest Conference released its 2018 Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches Poll on Friday and Lake Forest College was second in the rankings.
Voting is done by the MWC head men's tennis coaches. Each coach votes for the other eight schools in the league in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (eight points for first, seven for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own teams.
The Foresters trailed only defending conference champion Grinnell College in the poll. The Pioneers received eight first-place votes while Cornell College, the fourth-place team in the rankings, accounted for the other. Lawrence University was third on the list.
Seniors Matt Kacyn and Joe Bove are Lake Forest's top returning players from last year. Kacyn played primarily at #3 singles and Bove at #5 and they combined for an 20-7 record during MWC play in singles and doubles combined.
Under third-year head coach Raquel Allen, Lake Forest will open the spring against Elmhurst College Saturday evening at 6:00 at the Racquet Club of Lake Bluff. The team will begin league play against Cornell College and Knox College on March 30 and will complete its 8-match conference schedule on April 14. The top four teams in the standings will compete in the MWC Tournament at the Nielsen Tennis Center in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 26 and the MWC Individual Tournaments will be played the next two days at the same location.
Lake Forest was 14-8 overall and 7-1 in the conference last year. The Foresters were the runners-up at the MWC Tournament for the fourth straight season and claimed titles at the top two positions in the lineup during the MWC Individual Tournaments.
| PLACE | TEAM (First Place Votes) | POINTS |
| 1 | Grinnell College (7) | 64 |
| 2 | Lake Forest College | 53 |
| 3 | Lawrence University 48 | 49 |
| 4 | Cornell College (1) | 39 |
| 5 | St. Norbert College | 36 |
| 6 | Monmouth College | 33 |
| 7 | Illinois College | 26 |
| 8 | Ripon College | 17 |
| 9 | Knox College | 8 |