DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Bethune-Cookman women's tennis team was predicted to finish second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Southern Division and the men's team was picked to finish third, it was announced today.

Coming off a 20-7 season  in 2012 - their best since a 22-4 mark in 2007 - the Lady Wildcats received a first-place vote in the poll of the conference's 26 coaches and sports information directors. South Carolina State, which won its eighth consecutive conference championship in 2012, was predicted to win the division, followed by B-CU, North Carolina Central, Florida A&M, Norfolk State, North Carolina A&T and Savannah State.

"It's going to be an interesting year," said B-CU Head Coach Tim Pleasant, "Everyone in the conference has gotten better, we could finish first or we could finish fourth. It's going to take a few matches to see what we have and that's why we're playing a lot of February and March matches. By conference time, we'll know what we have."

The B-CU men's team finished .500 (14-14) for the first time since 2009 and second since 2004. The Wildcats advanced to the MEAC tennis championship semifinals, falling to South Carolina State, who won its fifth consecutive title and eighth in the past nine years. South Carolina State was selected to win the division, followed by Florida A&M, B-CU, Norfolk State and North Carolina Central.

"South Carolina State will be the team to beat until they get beat," Pleasant said. "Our men's team is solid. We can compete with anybody, we need to grow in confidence."

The spring tennis schedule opens this month with the men travelling to the University of Florida on Jan. 19 and the women at UCF on Jan. 25.