Gold Rush drop to 3rd after trading places with Keiser

NEW ORLEANS — The drop was inevitable, but the momentum is still building.
     
Xavier University of Louisiana switched positions Tuesday with Keiser in the NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25. The Gold Rush dropped from second to third, and the Seahawks moved to No. 2 after their 6-3 victory March 27 against XULA.
     
It was the first time since April 1, 2014, that the Gold Rush dropped in the national rankings. The XULA men had spent the previous 15 polls at No. 2.
     
But coach Alan Green isn't dealing with despair. His team won twice at home this past weekend against NCAA Division I opponents, including a come-from-behind 5-4 victory Saturday against Troy. What he saw that day encouraged him.
     
"If we can continue to play like we did against Troy, we're going to feel pretty good about our chances at nationals," said Green, who led the Gold Rush to national runner-up finishes in 2016 and 2017.
     
XULA (10-8), which has played six ranked teams this season, will play three more in the next five days. The Gold Rush will play host to NAIA No. 13 William Carey at 2 p.m. Thursday — start time was pushed back one hour — then travel to Pensacola, Fla., for matchups with two NCAA Division II teams: No. 12 Valdosta State at 3 p.m. Saturday and No. 8 West Florida at noon Sunday.
     
XULA climbed from fifth to fourth in the women's rankings, making it the first time ever that both XULA teams are in the national top four simultaneously.
     
XULA has the longest active streak of top-25 appearances in NAIA men's tennis. Here are all the Gold Rush active poll streaks:

     •  92 consecutive appearances in the top 25 . . . streak began April 4, 2007.
     •  83 consecutive appearances in the top 20 . . . streak began April 30, 2008.
     •  68 consecutive appearances in the top 15 . . . streak began Feb. 1, 2011.
     •  62 consecutive appearances in the top 10 . . . streak began May 3, 2011.
     •  24 consecutive appearances in the top 5 . . . streak began Jan. 26, 2016.
     •  22 consecutive appearances in the top 3 . . . streak began March 1, 2016.
 

NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records through April 8) Rank Previous School Record Points 1 1 Georgia Gwinnett [14] 21-0 374 2 3 Keiser (Fla.) 13-5 362 3 2 Xavier (La.) 10-8 350 4 4 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 8-0 338 5 7 Mobile (Ala.) 17-1 312 6 6 William Woods (Mo.) 6-5 310 7 8 Cumberland (Tenn.) 14-1 309 8 9 Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) 7-3 294 9 11 Campbellsville (Ky.) 11-3 272 10 5 Northwestern Ohio 6-5 266 11 10 Arizona Christian 16-5 252 12 12 Middle Georgia State 9-3 238 13 14 San Diego Christian (Calif.) 8-5 227 14 13 William Carey (Miss.) 7-3 224 15 15 Reinhardt (Ga.) 11-2 222 16 16 Westmont (Calif.) 6-7 185 17 19 Union (Ky.) 10-4 173 18 17 Asbury (Ky.) 7-1 169 19 18 Coastal Georgia 10-6 160 20 21 Tennessee Wesleyan 8-3 144 21 20 Lawrence Tech (Mich.) 17-3 140 22 23 Indiana Wesleyan 24-5 107 23 22 McPherson (Kan.) 6-3 104 24 25 Point (Ga.) 13-6 100 25 24 St. Thomas (Fla.) 6-6 77 Others Receiving Votes: Texas A&M-Texarkana 61; Loyola (La.) 60; Bethany (Kan.) 36; Aquinas (Mich.) 29; Cumberlands (Ky.) 27; Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) 24; Judson (Ill.) 9; Marian (Ind.) 7; Missouri Valley 4; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 4; Hastings (Neb.) 3 Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications XULAgold.com XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA  twitter.com/xulagold www.facebook.com/xulagold