TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology men's tennis team opens the 2015 season with a home matchup against Indiana University-Southeast on Saturday at the Wabash Valley Tennis Center.

The Fightin' Engineers were picked to finish second in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference standings this season in a preseason coaches poll released earlier this week.  Rose-Hulman finished 10-8 overall last season and 7-1 in HCAC play.

The Fightin' Engineers return five starters and eight letter winners from the 2014 squad. Sophomores Brandon Benedict and Georges Adam held down the top two singles positions and the No. 1 doubles position last year, and junior Matt Conrad enjoyed a strong performance at the ITA Regional last fall.

Senior Ray Montgomery and junior Erin Miller add multiple years of varsity experience to the Fightin' Engineer lineup.  Sophomore Joe Kendall also played varsity singles last season.

The talented freshmen class includes three players expected to compete for significant immediate time in Cam Metzger, Tyler Haas and Derek Benedict.  The six newcomers came to Rose-Hulman from Indiana, Illinois and California.

IU-Southeast enters Saturday's match with a 1-1 record after defeating Franklin 8-1 and falling to Cornerstone 6-0 during the fall season.

After Saturday's matchup, Rose-Hulman returns to action on Feb. 14 with another match at the Wabash Valley Tennis Center against Webster.