Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Gold Rush No. 4 in poll after rare late-April drop

Xavier University of Louisiana men's tennisNEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana made a rare late-April drop in the NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Tuesday. The Gold Rush dropped ftom third to fourth.
     

It was the first time since 2011 that the Gold Rush (11-11) dropped in the final April poll. The next poll will be announced May 7, the same day that the NAIA announces the 24 men's teams and 24 women's teams that qualified for the national tournament. The XULA men, who will not compete in a conference or unaffiliated group tournament, are expected to receive a bid for the 10th consecutive year.
     
XULA was the national runner-up in 2016 and 2017.
     

On the positive side of the poll, this is XULA's 93rd consecutive appearance in the top 25 — that's the longest active streak in NAIA men's tennis. The top-10 appearance is the Gold Rush's 63rd in a row.
     

NAIA tournament brackets will be revealed May 8, and the first round will begin May 15 at Copeland-Cox Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala. This year the men will play the afternoon matches. The championship finals are scheduled for May 19.
     

If the XULA men are one of the top eight seeds, they would receive a first-round bye and play their first match at nationals May 16 in the round of 16. The Gold Rush earned byes six of the last seven years and each of the last three.
 

NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through April 22)
RANKPREVIOUSSCHOOLRECORDPOINTS
11Georgia Gwinnett [13]23-0343
22Keiser (Fla.)14-6332
34Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)13-0317
43Xavier (La.)11-11310
514William Carey (Miss.)12-3294
66William Woods (Mo.)12-6281
77Cumberland (Tenn.)21-2279
85Mobile (Ala.)19-2271
98Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)11-4260
109Campbellsville (Ky.)13-6227
1011Arizona Christian18-6227
1210Northwestern Ohio11-5225
1312Middle Georgia State10-4214
1415Reinhardt (Ga.)16-3212
1516Westmont (Calif.)8-9195
1620Tennessee Wesleyan11-4170
1713San Diego Christian (Calif.)8-7166
1817Union (Ky.)13-5153
1918Asbury (Ky.)13-1135
2021Lawrence Tech (Mich.)19-4125
2119Coastal Georgia11-7124
2222Indiana Wesleyan27-8105
2324Point (Ga.)15-891
2423McPherson (Kan.)12-389
24RVCumberlands (Ky.)7-1289
Dropped from the Top 25: St. Thomas (Fla.)
Others Receiving Votes: St. Thomas (Fla.) 50; Texas A&M-Texarkana 50; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 28; Loyola (La.) 28; Bethany (Kan.) 25; Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) 23; Aquinas (Mich.) 16; Judson (Ill.) 12; Hastings (Neb.) 5; Bluefield (Va.) 4; Missouri Valley 3; Marian (Ind.) 3

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