Gold Rush No. 4; postseason is just around the corner

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana remained No. 4 Tuesday in the NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25. It's the final ranking before the national tournament.
     
XULA (11-11) extended its streak of consecutive top-25 appearances to 94. That's the longest active streak in NAIA men's tennis. The streak began April 4, 2007.
     
The Gold Rush have not played since April 16. XULA has three victories this season against ranked opponents and four against NCAA Division I members, including Nicholls and Troy.
     
The postseason timeline:
     •  Monday:  NAIA will announce at 3 p.m. CDT the 24 men's teams that qualified for the NAIA National Championships.
     •  Tuesday:  NAIA will announce at 1 p.m. CDT the seeds and bracket for nationals. The top eight seeds will receive first-round byes.
     •  May 13 (Sunday):  XULA will depart for Mobile, Ala., the site of nationals.
     •  May 14 (Monday):  Tournament banquet, which will include the presentation of ITA end-of-season and NAIA Champions of Character awards.
     •  May 15 (Tuesday):  First round of competition at Copeland-Cox Mobile Tennis Center (851 Gaillard Drive, zip code 36608, phone 251-208-5181). Admission is free for every round. Men's matches will start in the afternoon.
     •  May 16 (Wednesday):  Round of 16. The XULA men are expected to receive a first-round bye and play their first match on this day.
     •  May 17 (Thursday):  Quarterfinals.
     •  May 18 (Friday):  Semifinals.
     •  May 19 (Saturday):  Championship.
     •  May 22 (Tuesday):  NAIA announces its All-America team.
     •  May 23 (Wednesday):  NAIA announces postseason top 25, and ITA announces its end-of-season singles and doubles rankings.
 

NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records through April 29)

RANK	PREVIOUS	SCHOOL)	RECORD	POINTS
1	1	Georgia Gwinnett (14)	23-0	374
2	2	Keiser (Fla.)	15-6	362
3	3	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	14-0	348
4	4	Xavier (La.)	11-11	335
5	5	William Carey (Miss.)	12-3	329
6	7	Cumberland (Tenn.)	21-2	305
7	6	William Woods (Mo.)	14-6	302
8	8	Mobile (Ala.)	19-2	287
9	9	Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)	14-4	284
10	T10	Arizona Christian	18-7	260
11	T10	Campbellsville (Ky.)	13-6	253
12	12	Northwestern Ohio	13-5	245
13	13	Middle Georgia State	10-4	233
14	14	Reinhardt (Ga.)	16-3	226
15	15	Westmont (Calif.)	8-9	203
16	16	Tennessee Wesleyan	11-4	196
17	18	Union (Ky.)	13-5	175
18	17	San Diego Christian (Calif.)	8-7	172
19	19	Asbury (Ky.)	15-1	153
20	20	Lawrence Tech (Mich.)	20-5	146
21	21	Coastal Georgia	11-7	136
22	22	Indiana Wesleyan	27-8	117
23	23	Point (Ga.)	15-8	103
24	T24	Cumberlands (Ky.)	8-11	102
25	T24	McPherson (Kan.)	14-3	98

Dropped from the Top 25: None

Others Receiving Votes: Texas A&M-Texarkana 56; Loyola (La.) 37; St. Thomas (Fla.) 36; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 30; Missouri Valley 28; Bethany (Kan.) 22; St. Francis (Ill.) 12; Aquinas (Mich.) 9; Bluefield (Va.) 7; Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) 6.

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