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

NEW 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)

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
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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