Rush hold No. 2 in 90th straight top-25 appearance

NEW ORLEANS — The order of the first 12 teams in the NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll is the same as it was two weeks ago. That means Xavier University of Louisiana is still near the top of the mountain.

The Gold Rush are No. 2 for the 14th consecutive poll. It's also XULA's 90th consecutive appearance in the top 25 — the longest active streak in NAIA men's tennis. The streak began April 4, 2007.

The NAIA announced the team rankings Tuesday. Next rankings will be revealed March 27.

XULA's only dual between polls was a 5-4 victory March 2 at No. 12 William Carey. It was XULA's fifth consecutive victory and second in a row against a ranked team.

The Gold Rush will return to the court Sunday at noon against SCAD Atlanta at XULA Tennis Center. SCAD Atlanta was 25th two weeks ago but dropped out this week.

Here are all the Gold Rush active poll streaks:
• 90 consecutive appearances in the top 25 . . . streak began April 4, 2007.
• 81 consecutive appearances in the top 20 . . . streak began April 30, 2008.
• 66 consecutive appearances in the top 15 . . . streak began Feb. 1, 2011.
• 60 consecutive appearances in the top 10 . . . streak began May 3, 2011.
• 22 consecutive appearances in the top 5 . . . streak began Jan. 26, 2016.
• 20 consecutive appearances in the top 3 . . . streak began March 1, 2016.
• 14 consecutive appearances in the top 2 . . . streak began May 25, 2016.

NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through March 11)
Rank Previous School Record Points
1 1 Georgia Gwinnett (14) 18-0 374
2 2 Xavier (La.) 6-6 361
3 3 Keiser (Fla.) 11-2 351
4 4 Campbellsville (Ky.) 8-0 336
5 5 Northwestern Ohio 4-3 327
6 6 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 2-0 315
7 7 William Woods (Mo.) 5-4 297
8 8 Mobile (Ala.) 10-1 287
9 9 Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) 1-1 279
10 10 Arizona Christian 9-3 266
11 11 Middle Georgia State 6-2 257
12 12 William Carey (Miss.) 5-2 242
13 12 San Diego Christian (Calif.) 4-3 233
14 14 Westmont (Calif.) 2-5 208
15 16 Reinhardt (Ga.) 5-1 202
16 19 Cumberland (Tenn.) 9-1 193
17 17 Asbury (Ky.) 2-1 179
17 15 Coastal Georgia 7-6 179
19 18 Tennessee Wesleyan 4-2 160
20 20 Lawrence Tech (Mich.) 10-3 136
21 20 McPherson (Kan.) 2-2 127
22 NR Union (Ky.) 5-2 110
23 25 Indiana Wesleyan 22-3 108
24 22 St. Thomas (Fla.) 5-5 101
25 23 Point (Ga.) 10-4 82
Dropped from the Top 25: SCAD Atlanta (Ga.)

Others Receiving Votes: Aquinas (Mich.) 80; Texas A&M-Texarkana 35; Loyola (La.) 32; SCAD Atlanta (Ga.) 28; Bethany (Kan.) 25; Cumberlands (Ky.) 21; Missouri Valley 12; Hastings (Neb.) 10; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 9; Ave Maria (Fla.) 9; Marian (Ind.) 6; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 5

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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