ST. LOUIS – After securing a second-straight Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title in 2021, the Illinois State women's tennis team has been selected by league coaches as the favorite in the 2022 MVC preseason poll. The Redbirds received 47 total points and five first-place votes to finish just ahead of 2021 tournament champion Drake in second with 44 points and the final two first-place votes.
Bradley came in third with 33 total points, with Valparaiso (23 points) and Missouri State (22 points) in fourth and fifth, respectively, with only one point separating the two. Stony Brook notched the sixth spot with a total of 15 points and UNI comes in seventh, recording 12 points in this season's preseason poll.