Tuesday, May 7, 2013

XU Rush fall to No. 6 in final poll before national tournament

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana dropped one place to sixth Monday in the final NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll before the national tournament.
    
The Gold Rush (14-7) traded places with Bethany (Kan.) after ranking ahead of the Swedes in the previous two polls. Bethany edged Xavier by one point.
    
Still, it's the highest ranking entering next week's NAIA National Championship for the XU men, who were seventh before the 2012 tournament and eighth in 2011. The No. 5 ranking in the previous two polls was the highest in the program's history.
    
The Gold Rush, in the top 10 for the 19th consecutive time, clinched one of 13 automatic berths to the national tournament by winning an unaffiliated group tournament in April. The NAIA announced the 24-team field Monday and will reveal pairings by 5 p.m. CDT Tuesday. Xavier is expected to receive a first-round bye and play in the second round at 9 a.m. on May 15. All matches will be played in Mobile, Ala., at Copeland-Cox Tennis Center, the tournament venue for the 10th consecutive year.

NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, May 5)

Rank Team Record Points Last
1 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (9) 20-2 310 1
2 Auburn Montgomery (1) 18-3 299 2
3 Vanguard (2) 22-0 296 3
4 Westmont 11-10 279 4
5 Bethany (Kan.) 22-1 269 6
6 Xavier 14-7 268 5
7 Bethel (Tenn.) 20-1 252 7
8 Lindsey Wilson 16-3 244 8
9 Cumberland 17-4 232 9
10 Concordia (Calif.) 11-12 220 10
11 Belhaven 15-4 210 11
12 Aquinas 23-4 203 12
13-tie William Carey 8-5 187 14
13-tie Oklahoma Baptist 15-10 187 13
15 Northwood (Fla.) 12-5 176 15
16 Lewis-Clark State 7-8 162 16
17 Northwestern Ohio 13-7 143 18
18 Graceland 14-6 134 21
19 Warner 12-9 126 19
20 Pikeville 10-5 123 20
21 Olivet Nazarene 10-10 112 23
22 Campbellsville 10-9 108 22
23 McPherson 22-7 95 17
24 Davenport 18-7 85 24
25 Webber International 10-12 74 25

Others receiving votes: Indiana Wesleyan 58, Coastal Georgia 45, Martin Methodist 42, Grace 17, St. Francis (Ill.) 14, Asbury 12, Mobile 11, St. Thomas (Fla.) 6, Spring Arbor 5.
 
By Ed Cassiere, SID

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