School-record streak continues; 11 in a row for Rush

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana men's tennis extended its school record for consecutive postseason appearances by receiving an at-large bid Monday to the NAIA National Championship tournament.
     
It's the 11th straight year that the Gold Rush — 14-8 and ranked seventh in the most recent coaches poll — qualified for nationals. The XULA men reached the semifinals a year ago and were national runner-up in 2016 and 2017.
     
The Gold Rush were one of 24 teams selected for nationals. Thirteen teams received automatic bids, 10 received at-large bids, and Mobile received a host-school bid.
     
It's the 11th time overall that the Gold Rush qualified.
     
The final pretournament step — the NAIA's announcement of the bracket and seedings — will occur Tuesday. The five-day tournament will begin May 14 at Copeland-Cox Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala.
     
The top eight seeds will receive first-round byes and play their first matches May 15. XULA received a bye seven of the previous eight seasons, missing only in 2014.
     
XULA reached the quarterfinals each of the last seven years.
     
Georgia Gwinnett, which eliminated the Gold Rush each of the past three years, will seek its sixth consecutive national championshhip. The Grizzlies have won 105 consecutive dual matches and have not lost since a 5-3 decision against Hawaii Pacific on April 3, 2015, in Pensacola, Fla.

2019 NAIA Men's Tennis National Championship Qualifiers Team Location Record Qualifying Bid At 2018 Nationals Arizona Christian Firestorm Phoenix, Ariz. 18-1 Automatic 2nd round Asbury Eagles Wilmore, Ky. 13-3 Automatic 1st round Campbellsville Tigers Campbellsville, Ky. 16-7 At-large Quarterfinals Cardinal Stritch Wolves Milwaukee, Wis. 16-4 Automatic 2nd round Coastal Georgia Mariners Brunswick, Ga. 12-5 At-large Did not qualify Cumberland Phoenix Lebanon, Tenn. 12-6 At-large Quarterfinals Cumberlands Patriots Williamsburg, Ky. 12-6 At-large Did not qualify Georgia Gwinnett Grizzlies Lawrenceville, Ga. 23-0 At-large Champion for 5th straight year Keiser Seahawks West Palm Beach, Fla. 16-6 Automatic Runner-up Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders Columbia, Ky. 10-6 Automatic 2nd round Marian Knights Indianapolis, Ind. 20-9 Automatic Did not qualify McPherson Bulldogs McPherson, Kan. 11-6 Automatic 2nd round Middle Georgia Knights Cochran, Ga. 13-3 At-large 2nd round Midland Warriors Fremont, Neb. 12-8 Automatic Did not qualify Mobile Rams Mobile, Ala. 13-5 Host berth 2nd round Northwestern Ohio Racers Lima, Ohio 13-11 Automatic 1st Round Point Skyhawks West Point, Ga. 15-6 At-large Did not qualify Reinhardt Eagles Waleska, Ga. 16-2 Automatic Semifinals Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs Athens, Tenn. 11-6 At-large 2nd round Texas A&M-Texarkana Eagles Texarkana, Texas 7-6 Automatic 1st Round Union Bulldogs Barbourville, Ky. 12-8 At-large 2nd round William Carey Crusaders Hattiesburg, Miss. 13-3 Automatic Quarterfinals William Woods Owls Fulton, Mo. 21-2 Automatic Quarterfinals Xavier Gold Rush New Orleans, La. 14-8 At-large Semifinals Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications Department of Athletics & Recreation XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA  XULAgold.com twitter.com/xulagold www.facebook.com/xulagold