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) |
RANK | PREVIOUS | SCHOOL | RECORD | POINTS |
1 | 1 | Georgia Gwinnett [13] | 23-0 | 343 |
2 | 2 | Keiser (Fla.) | 14-6 | 332 |
3 | 4 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 13-0 | 317 |
4 | 3 | Xavier (La.) | 11-11 | 310 |
5 | 14 | William Carey (Miss.) | 12-3 | 294 |
6 | 6 | William Woods (Mo.) | 12-6 | 281 |
7 | 7 | Cumberland (Tenn.) | 21-2 | 279 |
8 | 5 | Mobile (Ala.) | 19-2 | 271 |
9 | 8 | Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) | 11-4 | 260 |
10 | 9 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 13-6 | 227 |
10 | 11 | Arizona Christian | 18-6 | 227 |
12 | 10 | Northwestern Ohio | 11-5 | 225 |
13 | 12 | Middle Georgia State | 10-4 | 214 |
14 | 15 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 16-3 | 212 |
15 | 16 | Westmont (Calif.) | 8-9 | 195 |
16 | 20 | Tennessee Wesleyan | 11-4 | 170 |
17 | 13 | San Diego Christian (Calif.) | 8-7 | 166 |
18 | 17 | Union (Ky.) | 13-5 | 153 |
19 | 18 | Asbury (Ky.) | 13-1 | 135 |
20 | 21 | Lawrence Tech (Mich.) | 19-4 | 125 |
21 | 19 | Coastal Georgia | 11-7 | 124 |
22 | 22 | Indiana Wesleyan | 27-8 | 105 |
23 | 24 | Point (Ga.) | 15-8 | 91 |
24 | 23 | McPherson (Kan.) | 12-3 | 89 |
24 | RV | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 7-12 | 89 |
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
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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold
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