NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana was No. 3 Wednesday in the NAIA women's tennis coaches postseason poll. The Gold Nuggets matched their highest ever final national ranking.
The XULA women also finished third in 2013 and 2014. It's the fifth time in six years that the Gold Nuggets are in the final top 10.
The Gold Nuggets (19-8) won 2-of-3 dual matches at the NAIA National Championships in Mobile, Ala., last week. They had a first-round bye, then defeated SCAD Savannah 6-1 in the round of 16 and LSU-Alexandria 5-0 in the quarterfinals. Georgia Gwinnett eliminated the Nuggets 5-1 in the semifinals en route to the Grizzlies' third consecutive championship.
Georgia Gwinnett was a unanimous No. 1. The Grizzlies swapped positions with Keiser, the No. 1 team the previous four polls.
XULA was 12-3 this year against NAIA teams in the postseason top 25, including three wins against No. 8 LSU-Alexandria, two wins against No. 9 William Carey and another victory against No. 5 Brenau. The Gold Nuggets also produced two victories against NCAA Division I teams (Jackson State and Southern) and won 5-3 at West Florida, the NCAA Division II national runner-up.
It's the first time that both XULA tennis teams finished in the national top three in the same season. The XULA men were ranked third.
The Gold Nuggets' active poll streaks:
• 57 consecutive appearances in the top 25 . . . streak began May 1, 2012.
• 57 consecutive appearances in the top 20 . . . streak began May 1, 2012.
• 16 consecutive appearances in the top 15 . . . streak began Feb. 28, 2017.
• 7 consecutive appearances in the top 10 . . . streak began Feb. 27, 2018.
• 6 consecutive appearances in the top 5 . . . streak began March 13, 2018.
| NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Postseason Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records through May 19) |
| RANK | PREVIOUS | SCHOOL | RECORD | POINTS |
| 1 | 2 | Georgia Gwinnett (14) | 18-2 | 374 |
| 2 | 1 | Keiser (Fla.) | 23-3 | 362 |
| 3 | 3 | Xavier (La.) | 19-8 | 350 |
| 4 | 4 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 14-3 | 338 |
| 5 | 6 | Brenau (Ga.) | 16-8 | 326 |
| 6 | 7 | William Woods (Mo.) | 18-7 | 310 |
| 7 | 8 | Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) | 15-7 | 298 |
| 8 | 12 | LSU-Alexandria (La.) | 12-7 | 297 |
| 9 | 5 | William Carey (Miss.) | 11-6 | 272 |
| 10 | 10 | Northwestern Ohio | 15-5 | 261 |
| 11 | 11 | Indiana Wesleyan | 34-6 | 248 |
| 11 | 9 | SCAD Savannah (Ga.) | 13-5 | 248 |
| 13 | 14 | Middle Georgia State | 12-7 | 229 |
| 13 | 13 | San Diego Christian (Calif.) | 12-7 | 229 |
| 15 | 15 | Westmont (Calif.) | 10-12 | 203 |
| 16 | 16 | SCAD Atlanta (Ga.) | 12-7 | 199 |
| 17 | 18 | Union (Ky.) | 15-6 | 175 |
| 18 | 19 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 10-11 | 170 |
| 19 | 17 | Arizona Christian | 10-12 | 154 |
| 20 | 22 | Cumberland (Tenn.) | 13-11 | 150 |
| 21 | 24 | Mobile (Ala.) | 11-7 | 133 |
| 22 | 20 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 14-9 | 120 |
| 23 | 23 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 12-7 | 103 |
| 24 | 21 | Loyola (La.) | 12-7 | 100 |
| 25 | 25 | Marian (Ind.) | 17-4 | 75 |
Others Receiving Votes: Southwestern (Kan.) 55; Asbury (Ky.) 45; Georgetown (Ky.) 36; Hastings (Neb.) 32; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 22; Missouri Baptist 19; St. Thomas (Fla.) 14; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 14; Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 13; Tennessee Wesleyan 9; Huntington (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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