NEW ORLEANS — A 3-1 record — the program's best start since 2007 — moved Xavier
University of Louisiana's women's tennis team from 13th to 11th in the NAIA
Coaches' Top 25 poll announced Tuesday
afternoon.
Still in the top 10 are the Xavier men, who fell from eighth
to 10th after a pair of losses to top-10 opponents. Still, it's the 13th
consecutive time that the Gold Rush are in the top 10 and the 16th time in the
last 17 polls.
Xavier never has had both tennis teams in the NAIA top 10
simultaneously, but this is the closest that coach Alan Green's programs have
come to achieving that status. It's the second consecutive poll that both teams
are among the top 15 — the other time that happened was in 2009.
The
Gold Nuggets — a top-25 team in just 4-of-9 polls a year ago after a streak of
44 consecutive top-25 appearances from 2004-11 — bolstered their resumé this
past weekend with a come-from-behind 5-4 victory against then-No. 18 Oklahoma
Baptist and a 6-1 decision against Prairie View A&M. The victory against the
Lady Panthers was the Nuggets' first since 2009 against an NCAA Division I
member.
The Gold Rush (3-3) suffered 6-3 losses to top-10s William Carey
and Bethany (Kan.) since the preseason rankings, but Xavier also defeated
Oklahoma Baptist — 21st this week after receiving no votes in January — and
Prairie View.
The top-25 appearance is the 43rd in a row for the XU men
dating to April 4, 2007.
Xavier is one of eight schools — the others are
Auburn Montgomery, Concordia (Calif.), Embry-Riddle (Fla.), Lindsey Wilson,
Vanguard, Westmont and William Carey — with both teams in the top 11.
The next XU home duals will start at 2 p.m. Saturday for the Gold Nuggets
against NCAA Division I's McNeese State and 3 p.m. on Feb. 28 for the Nuggets
and Rush against Belhaven, which has both its teams in the NAIA top
25.
NAIA Women's
Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses —
records through Sunday, Feb. 17)
| Rank |
Team |
Record |
Points |
Last |
| 1 |
Auburn Montgomery (13) |
2-1 |
343 |
1 |
| 2 |
Brenau |
3-0 |
332 |
3 |
| 3 |
SCAD Savannah |
2-1 |
315 |
9 |
| 4 |
Lindsey Wilson |
0-1 |
308 |
4 |
| 5 |
Westmont |
5-1 |
299 |
8 |
| 6 |
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) |
1-3 |
285 |
2 |
| 7 |
William Carey |
1-3 |
281 |
6 |
| 8 |
Concordia (Calif.) |
2-4 |
264 |
5 |
| 9 |
Lewis-Clark State |
2-1 |
262 |
7 |
| 10 |
Vanguard |
1-4 |
239 |
10 |
| 11 |
Xavier |
3-1 |
228 |
13 |
| 12 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
15-0 |
226 |
11 |
| 13 |
Campbellsville |
0-1 |
215 |
12 |
| 14 |
Olivet Nazarene |
2-0 |
195 |
14 |
| 15 |
Lee (Tenn.) |
1-0 |
187 |
15 |
| 16 |
Oklahoma Baptist |
0-3 |
181 |
18 |
| 17 |
Robert Morris (Chicago) |
0-0 |
168 |
16 |
| 18 |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
1-3 |
163 |
17 |
| 19 |
Marian (Ind.) |
11-2 |
146 |
19 |
| 20 |
Cumberland |
0-1 |
130 |
22 |
| 21 |
Nebraska Wesleyan |
1-4 |
114 |
24 |
| 22 |
Belhaven |
2-0 |
107 |
23 |
| 23 |
Martin Methodist |
0-1 |
97 |
21 |
| 24 |
Bethel (Kan.) |
0-2 |
79 |
20 |
| 25 |
Davenport |
4-3 |
71 |
25 |
Others receiving votes: Georgetown (Ky.) 63,
Milligan 62, Webber International 60, Evangel 23, Indiana Southeast 13,
Graceland 11, Northwood (Fla.) 9, Arizona Christian 5, Cumberlands 3, Ashford
3. |
|
NAIA Men's
Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses —
records through Sunday, Feb. 17)
| Rank |
Team |
Record |
Points |
Last |
| 1 |
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (9) |
3-1 |
310 |
1 |
| 2 |
Auburn Montgomery (2) |
3-1 |
302 |
2 |
| 3 |
Vanguard (1) |
4-0 |
293 |
3 |
| 4 |
Lindsey Wilson |
0-0 |
282 |
4 |
| 5-tie |
Westmont |
3-3 |
266 |
7 |
| 5-tie |
William Carey |
2-0 |
266 |
6 |
| 7 |
Bethany (Kan.) |
6-1 |
247 |
10 |
| 8 |
Concordia (Calif.) |
2-4 |
238 |
5 |
| 9 |
Aquinas |
3-1 |
230 |
9 |
| 10 |
Xavier |
3-3 |
228 |
8 |
| 11 |
Cumberland |
0-0 |
204 |
11 |
| 12 |
Belhaven |
3-0 |
197 |
12 |
| 13 |
Olivet Nazarene |
2-0 |
182 |
13 |
| 14 |
Campbellsville |
0-1 |
169 |
14 |
| 15 |
Lewis-Clark State |
2-1 |
164 |
NR |
| 16 |
Warner |
0-1 |
161 |
15 |
| 17 |
McPherson |
6-1 |
159 |
17 |
| 18 |
Graceland |
2-1 |
155 |
16 |
| 19 |
Pikeville |
0-0 |
127 |
18 |
| 20 |
Webber International |
0-2 |
119 |
20 |
| 21 |
Oklahoma Baptist |
1-2 |
108 |
NR |
| 22 |
Northwestern Ohio |
5-2 |
102 |
19 |
| 23 |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
2-2 |
96 |
22 |
| 24-tie |
Coastal Georgia |
2-2 |
83 |
23 |
| 24-tie |
Spring Arbor |
10-2 |
83 |
21 |
Others receiving votes: Northwood (Fla.) 45,
Biola 39, Indiana Wesleyan 34, Missouri Valley 25, Lee (Tenn.) 24, Davenport 23,
Asbury 14, Martin Methodist 12, Bethel (Tenn.) 6, Our Lady of the Lake 6.
|
|
By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAATHLETICS
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