The Midwest Conference released its 2016 Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches Poll on Tuesday and Lake Forest College was predicted to place second in the league.
Voting is done by the MWC head men's tennis coaches. Each coach votes for the nine other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (nine points for first, eight for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own teams.
Lake Forest will be led by fifth-year head coach Michael Raymond, who has directed the team to a 13-8 league record during his first four years with the program. The 2015 Foresters finished 14-12 overall and 7-2 and in the MWC, good for third place in the league standings. Lake Forest edged out Monmouth College 5-4 in the semifinals of the MWC Tournament before falling to Grinnell College in the final.
The Foresters will open the 2016 regular season on Saturday, February 6, against Kalamazoo College, the 10th-ranked team in the Central Region. The contest will begin at 6:30 p.m. and be played indoors at The Racquet Club of Lake Bluff.
| Place | Team (First Place Votes) | Points |
| 1 | Grinnell College (6) | 62 |
| 2 | Lake Forest College (1) | 56 |
| 3 | Monmouth College (1) | 53 |
| 4 | Carroll University | 43 |
| 5 | Cornell College | 35 |
| 6 | Lawrence University | 34 |
| 7 | St. Norbert College | 28 |
| 8 | Knox College | 19 |
| 9 | Illinois College | 16 |
| 10 | Ripon College | 7 |
