The Charlotte 49ers men's tennis team was picked third in the preseason Atlantic 10 coaches poll. VCU, who has made 19 NCAA Tournament appearances, was picked first. George Washington, who has captured the last two A-10 titles, was picked second. The 49ers are picked third. Xavier, Richmond, Temple, Fordham and Duquesne round out the top eight teams.

The Atlantic 10 Championship, a single-elimination tournament, will be held April 25-28 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.

Coach Billy Boykin, who is in his third season at the helm of the 49ers men's tennis program, welcomed back eight letterwinners led by 2012 All-Atlantic 10 selections Alex Calott, Paul Cisti, Kamil Khalil and Jack Williams. Also headlining the 49ers returning letterwinners are seniors Krysztof Kwasniewicz and Hector Linares and junior Alex Weber.

Last year, Williams finished with a 16-15 mark, which included 12 wins at the number-one spot in the lineup. Khalil ended the year 13-3 after joining the team at the semester break. He was 9-1 as Charlotte's number-two player.

Last season, Calott was 18-12 in singles, playing mostly at number-three for the 49ers, while Cisti finished 17-17, the most decisions for a player on the roster this season. He played mostly at the number-four spot for Charlotte.

In doubles play, Calott and Williams represented Charlotte's top doubles pair, with six wins in dual match play this season. Callott had 12 doubles, with Williams turning in 11 wins in doubles in his first collegiate season.

Last season, Khalil teamed with Kwasniewicz, who finished 10-4 as a tandem, Charlotte's best doubles record.

Charlotte also welcomes talented newcomers sophomore Forrest Edwards and freshmen Jordi Massalle Ferrer and Carl Solik to the 2012-13 roster.

The 49ers host Tennessee Tech in their first spring home match at the Halton-Wagner Tennis Complex, Saturday, January 26 at 12 pm.