KANSAS CITY, Mo.- The MIAA has released its preseason coaches polls for the upcoming men's and women's tennis seasons, with Washburn taking the top spot in both men's (north division) and women's tennis. The Jets were selected sixth in the north division for men's tennis. On the women's side, Newman took the ninth spot in the poll with 16 points. 

2026 MIAA/GAC MEN'S TENNIS PRESEASON COACHES POLL
NORTH DIVISION
1. Washburn [9] – 50 points
2. Emporia State – 40 points
3. Northwest Missouri [1] – 35 points
4. Nebraska Kearney – 26 points
5. Augustana – 19 points
6. Newman – 10 points

SOUTH DIVISION
1. Harding [9] – 50 points
2. Ouachita [1] – 45 points
3. Southern Arkansas – 31 points
4. Northeastern State – 24 points
T5. Arkansas-Fort Smith – 15 points
T5. Southeastern – 15 points
[#] - First Place Votes


2026 MIAA WOMEN'S TENNIS PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Washburn [6] – 70 points
2. Central Oklahoma [2] – 63 points
3. Nebraska Kearney [1] – 53 points
4. Northwest Missouri – 51 points
5. Missouri Western – 47 points
6. Emporia State – 40 points
7. Northeastern State – 33 points
8. Arkansas-Fort Smith – 19 points
9. Newman – 16 points
10. Fort Hays State – 13 points 
[#] - First Place Votes 


Head Coach Darren Snyder enters into his first season leading the Jets. Snyder is a certified tennis and pickleball instructor through the Racquet Sports Professionals Association. He joins the Jets after working in sales for Mid-American Courtworks, specializing in tennis and pickleball court construction. He has also served as a tennis and pickleball instructor at Rolling Hills Country Club. A two-sport athlete at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Snyder competed in both tennis and soccer. A Wichita native, Snyder graduated from Wichita North High School, where he was a Kansas State Tennis Champion.

Men's Tennis returns all nine athletes from last season including senior Enrico Belardo and Trevor Sweat. Sophomore David Javadov also returns, last year winning five singles matches and Junior Genaro Dagotta who won six doubles matches last season. Tikhon Sorokin also returns for the Jets, last season he posted a 6-7 doubles record with four singles match wins. The Jets will kick off their season hosting Cowley CC on February 19th and Pratt CC on February 25th. The Jets then hit the road to face Southeastern State on March 7th. Newman will then head back home to host four matches against Southwest Baptist, Washburn, Emporia State, and Rockhurst. On April 11th the Jets will set out on the road for two road matches against Northwest Missouri followed by a match against Augustana on April 12th. After this road stint, NU will host UAFS and NSU on April 17 and 18. To close out the season, the Jets will hit the road to face UNK. 

Women's Tennis returns all five student-athletes including seniors Nicole Bono and Mariana Jimenez. Bono recorded seven wins in singles matches last season and posted a 7-15 record in doubles. Jimenez tallied nine wins in singles, with a 9-8 record in doubles. Luciana Flores Urey, Anastassiya Kim, and Linda Nocito are the other Jets returners. Flores Urey brought in eight victories in singles matches last season. Kim posted a 6-4 record in doubles with seven singles wins and Nocito brought in three singles wins. Newman will host Cowley CC and Pratt CC to kick off the season on February 19th and 25th. They will then travel to Edmond, Oklahoma to face Arkansas Tech on February 28th. The Jets will hit one more road game, against Southeastern Oklahoma State, before returning home. The Jets kick off conference play with three home games, starting with UCO followed by Washburn and Emporia State. In April, the Jets hit two away matches against Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri on April 10th and 11th. After this, the Jets head back home to host UAFS and NSU on April 17 and 18. To cap off the season, Newman will head out on a two match road stint. First traveling to Hays on April 24 and then to Nebraska Kearney on April 24th.