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| The 2012-13 Xavier University of Louisiana women's tennis team ROSTER (Click on photo to enlarge) |
This is the first time that a Xavier team in any sport has been ranked No. 1 in the NAIA. Xavier has competed in intercollegiate athletics since the 1930s and has produced NAIA-ranked teams since the early 1970s.
"This validates all the hard work and all the tough scheduling we've done through the years," said 10th-year XU coach Alan Green, whose team has won its last six duals and 10 of its last 12. "This is what I hoped we would get out of it."
The Gold Nuggets (14-7), No. 6 in the poll two weeks ago, received 8-of-13 first-place votes after dual-match victories against then-No. 2 William Carey on April 5 and then-No. 3 Auburn Montgomery the following day. AUM defeated then-No. 1 Brenau on April 9. Xavier is 9-0 this season against ranked NAIA opponents; all the losses were to NCAA Division I teams.
Brenau is second and AUM third in the new poll. Brenau received four first-place votes and AUM one.
| "Everyone on the team believes we deserve this. It wasn't given to us," said junior Kourtney Howell, an NAIA All-American in 2012. "Everyone has a lot of confidence right now. Being No. 1 definitely makes us want to train harder. I think we'll handle the pressure fine." The Gold Nuggets were 13th in the preseason poll on Jan. 29 and have climbed in every poll thereafter. This is the Nuggets' fourth consecutive top-10 appearance. The NAIA releases tennis polls every two weeks. Although six of the previous eight Xavier teams qualified for the NAIA National Championship, the Gold Nuggets had spent just one week in the top 10 before this season. That was a No. 9 ranking in March 2007. Xavier's next match will be Friday against Fisk in the quarterfinals of an NAIA unaffiliated group qualifying tournament at Jonesboro, Ga. The winner of that tournament will receive an automatic bid to nationals. Challenging the Nuggets from the opposite side of the eight-team bracket will be No. 19 SCAD Atlanta and No. 21 Milligan. "We've made it to the top of the rankings, but in no way am I satisfied," Green said. "We still have a long way to go. We have a qualifying tournament this week and nationals next month. But I think we now believe we can win the national championship." Xavier is one of 38 U.S. colleges listed as a "Best Buy School" in the 2013 edition of the Fiske Guide to Colleges.
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By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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