Gold Nuggets climb one place to No. 8 in coaches poll

NEW ORLEANS — For the fourth time in the last five polls, Xavier University of Louisiana has climbed in the NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 — this time from ninth to eighth.

The Gold Nuggets (7-13) closed their regular season Saturday with an 8-1 home victory against LSU-Alexandria, which climbed from 11th to ninth. The top-10 appearance is XULA's fourth this season and its 29th all-time.

XULA's current streak of top-25 appearances is 46. The streak began May 1, 2012.

The Gold Nuggets for the second straight year will not compete in an NAIA unaffiliated group qualifying tournament. However, they are expected to receive one of nine at-large bids to the NAIA National Championships at Mobile, Ala., due to their high national ranking and five victories against ranked opponents.

Upcoming NAIA announcements: next coaches poll May 7, the 24 women's teams that qualified for nationals May 8 and the seedings and bracket May 9. The tournament's first round — eight dual matches — will begin May 16. The final round will be May 20.

NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through April 23)

Rank Team Record Points Last
1 Georgia Gwinnett (12) 21-0 312 1
2 Lindsey Wilson 17-4 302 2
3 SCAD Savannah 12-3 292 3
4 Keiser 12-7 280 4
5 Northwestern Ohio 17-5 270 5
6 San Diego Christian 15-3 257 6
7 William Carey 13-3 254 8
8 XULA 7-13 240 9
9 LSU-Alexandria 15-3 224 11
10 Mobile 22-4 218 10
11 William Woods 8-9 217 7
12 Indiana Wesleyan 30-7 208 12
13 Cardinal Stritch 11-5 193 13
14 Arizona Christian 17-8 182 14
15 Cumberlands 14-7 174 15
16 Lewis-Clark State 7-13 156 18
17 Middle Georgia 13-8 153 16
18 Davenport 12-9 141 17
19 Olivet Nazarene 9-10 133 19
20 SCAD Atlanta 10-6 122 20
21 Campbellsville 10-7 115 21
22 St. Thomas (Fla.) 4-10 88 22
23 McPherson 8-2 85 23
24 Reinhardt 11-4 84 24
25 Georgetown (Ky.) 16-6 69 RV

Dropped from rankings: No. 25 Cumberland
Others receiving votes: Marian (Ind.) 62, Cumberland 47, Coastal Georgia 45, Tennessee Wesleyan 29, Brenau 17, Southwestern (Kan.) 5, Southeastern (Fla.) 5, Missouri Valley 4, Asbury 3

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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