Gold Rush earn No. 2 again in NAIA postseason poll

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana men's tennis, four days after its second consecutive runner-up finish at the NAIA National Championships, was ranked No. 2 in the postseason coaches poll.

The XULA men made their 86th consecutive top-25 appearance dating to April 4, 2007. It is the longest active streak in NAIA men's tennis. The Gold Rush were second in the 2016 postseason poll.

The Gold Rush finished 14-6 after a 5-0 loss Saturday to Georgia Gwinnett in the NAIA final at Mobile, Ala. Twelve XULA victories this season were against ranked or NCAA Division I teams — 10 of those were on the road.

XULA's resume got shinier Wednesday when Emory defeated Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 5-1 in the NCAA Division III final at Chattanooga, Tenn. XULA won 5-4 at Emory Feb. 18.

The Gold Rush active poll streaks:
• 86 consecutive appearances in the top 25 . . . streak began April 4, 2007.
• 77 consecutive appearances in the top 20 . . . streak began April 30, 2008.
• 62 consecutive appearances in the top 15 . . . streak began Feb. 1, 2011.
• 56 consecutive appearances in the top 10 . . . streak began May 3, 2011.
• 18 consecutive appearances in the top 5 . . . streak began Jan. 26, 2016.
• 16 consecutive appearances in the top 3 . . . streak began March 1, 2016.
• 10 consecutive appearances in the top 2 . . . streak began May 25, 2016.

NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Postseason Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through May 20)

Rank Team Record Points Last
1 Georgia Gwinnett (12) 24-0 312 1
2 XULA 14-6 302 2
3 Keiser 19-4 292 3
4 Campbellsville 26-5 282 5
5 Northwestern Ohio 22-2 271 4
6 Lindsey Wilson 17-7 258 7
7 William Carey 18-6 254 6
8 William Woods 15-6 240 9
9 Cardinal Stritch 19-6 228 10
10 Arizona Christian 15-13 224 8
11 Mobile 23-5 213 11
12 Westmont 14-8 202 12
13 San Diego Christian 7-11 188 13
14 Middle Georgia 10-9 182 16
15 SCAD Savannah 9-9 162 19
16 Reinhardt 13-6 150 15
17 Asbury 17-2 146 RV
18 Coastal Georgia 14-8 143 14
19 Tennessee Wesleyan 12-5 137 17
20 McPherson 11-4 122 21
21 Lawrence Tech 20-7 118 20
22 Olivet Nazarene 12-7 102 18
23 Aquinas 17-7 88 22
24 Cumberland 7-6 78 23
25 SCAD Atlanta 11-4 75 24

Dropped from rankings: No. 25 St. Thomas (Fla.)
Others receiving votes: St. Thomas (Fla.) 60, Marian (Ind.) 41, Warner 29, Missouri Valley 20, Hastings 17, Davenport 15, Cumberlands 8, Point 6, Bethany (Kan.) 5, Cornerstone 3

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