You probably don't need a poll to tell you that the Pacific West Conference men's tennis coaches would think that Azusa Pacific or HPU will win the 2024 conference title in Surprise, Arizona.

After all, in the last 10 years, HPU has won six titles and Azusa Pacific has captured three. The Cougars have won the last two and have been to eight straight NCAA tournaments. The Sharks have been to the postseason in 15 of the last 16 years.

So the only service a poll rendered useful was, 'Which team wins the title this year?'

HPU and Azusa Pacific both received four first place votes, but the Sharks edged the Cougars with 92 poll points to 82 for the honor of being the preseason favorite.

The one team to break that monopoly of winning a title in the last ten years is Hawai'i Hilo (2021), and they landed in the third poll spot with 78 points. Point Loma is next with 75 points, and both the Vulcans and Sea Lions had one first place vote and are solid contenders to unseat the Sharks or Cougars.

All that's left is first serve, and that will happen this weekend for eight of the 10 conference teams. HPU and Hawai'i Hilo will wait until Feb. 17-18 to play each other on O'ahu.

The PacWest teams do not play an official conference schedule, but many of the top teams will face off against each other before the PacWest Championships (April 18-20) in Surprise, Arizona. Only the top eight teams in the conference will qualify for the tournament as determined by the PacWest selection committee, meaning teams will have to play their way into earning a berth.

HAWAI'I HILO

Hawai'i Hilo, conference champs in 2021, appear ready to challenge for that spot again. They return four starters in Agustin Gentile (2023 All-PacWest Third Team), Luca Matheiowetz (2022 All-PacWest Third Team), Filippo Di Perna, and Coby Pearce. But the biggest gain for head coach Kallen Mizuguchi came via the transfer route, most notably Ryo Minakata. The former Boise State player reached the semifinals of the ITA West Region tournament and comes into the season ranked fourth in the region. Cian McDonnell also earned a region ranking (No. 9) based on three standout seasons at North Dakota. Other transfers that quickly help the Vulcans contend are Lamar Bartley (Valdosta State), Jaime Paquet (Tennessee Tech), Jacob Gailey (Shorter) and Yu Jhe Du (Western New Mexico).