Gold XU Rush preseason rank is 12th straight in NAIA top 10

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana was in a familiar spot in the 2013 NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Preseason Poll announced Tuesday.
    
The Gold Rush, 18-8 this past season, are No. 8 in the first of nine team polls this year. It's the 12th consecutive top-10 appearance for the XU men dating to May 2011 and their 42nd consecutive top-25 ranking dating to April 2007.
    
It's also Xavier's highest preseason ranking in this sport. Xavier was ninth in the 2012 preseason and finished the year No. 7 after becoming the first from Xavier in any sport to reach the national quarterfinals since men's basketball in 1973.
    
Xavier opened its spring season this past weekend with a 6-1 loss to Tulane. The Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets will travel to Houma, La., to play Nicholls State at 4 p.m. Saturday. The next Gold Rush home match will start at 2 p.m. on Feb. 8 against NAIA No. 6 William Carey at the new XU Tennis Center.
    
The next two top 25s will be announced Feb. 19 and March 5.

NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records are from 2012 season) Rank Team Record Points Last 1 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (8) 20-4 279 3 2 Auburn Montgomery (2) 17-8 271 5 3 Vanguard (1) 15-11 265 6 4 Lindsey Wilson 19-6 245 10 5 Concordia (Calif.) 9-13 243 12 6 William Carey 17-5 235 9 7 Westmont 12-10 230 8 8 Xavier 18-8 223 7 9 Aquinas 26-3 212 13 10 Bethany (Kan.) 22-4 205 14 11 Cumberland 18-3 179 16 12 Belhaven 16-4 174 15 13 Olivet Nazarene 15-5 168 20 14 Campbellsville 19-7 166 17 15 Warner 13-5 160 18 16 Graceland 9-7 143 RV 17 McPherson 15-4 137 RV 18 Pikeville 12-6 126 RV 19 Northwestern Ohio 18-7 119 21 20 Webber International 15-7 116 23 21 Spring Arbor 10-2 100 24 22 Georgetown (Ky.) 12-11 90 RV 23 Coastal Georgia 6-7 89 NR 24 Biola 5-14 73 RV 25 Lee (Tenn.) 9-8 67 RV Others receiving votes: Indiana Wesleyan 55; Davenport 49, Missouri Valley 41, SCAD Savannah 23, St. Francis (Ill.) 14, Martin Methodist 13, Tennessee Wesleyan 6, Asbury 4, Hastings 3.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

WSSU looking for first win at J.C. Smith since 2006

RALEIGH, North Carolina  --  Winston-Salem State has won in men’s basketball nearly everywhere it has played since rejoining the CIAA before the 2010-11 season.

Johnson C. Smith’s Brayboy Gym — one of the CIAA’s smallest (capacity about 2,500) and toughest places to play — has been the exception.

“We haven’t won there in my career,” said guard Marcus Wells, a senior who is 0-2 at Brayboy.

No. 16-ranked WSSU (15-3, 2-1 CIAA Southern Division) will try to reverse that tonight at Johnson C. Smith (13-6, 2-1) in a game between teams tied for second place in the division. Tipoff is set for 7:30.

A combination of things makes Brayboy a tough place to play, including how close the fans are to the court and Johnson C. Smith’s long tradition of success. For WSSU, which last won at Brayboy in 2006 but didn’t play there from 2007 to 2010, there’s also the rivalry.

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XU Nuggets are 13th, matching their best preseason ranking

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana was 13th — matching the program's highest preseason ranking — in the 2013 NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Preseason Poll announced Tuesday.

The Gold Nuggets, 7-22 this past season but a qualifier for the NAIA National Championship by virtue of winning an unaffiliated group tournament, matched the preseason rank of Xavier's 2007 team. This is the Nuggets' highest ranking at any point in a season since they were 13th in the final poll of 2008. Only three times have the XU women ranked higher than 13th; all three occurred in 2007.
    
Xavier began its spring season Friday with a 9-0 victory against city rival Loyola in the first intercollegiate dual at the new XU Tennis Center, which opened in October. The Gold Nuggets and Gold Rush will travel to Houma, La., to play Nicholls State at 4 p.m. Saturday. The Gold Nuggets' next home match will start at 2 p.m. on Feb. 23 against McNeese State at the XU Tennis Center.
    
The next two top 25s will be announced Feb. 19 and March 5.

NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records are from 2012 season) Rank Team Record Points Last 1 Auburn Montgomery (12) 26-2 312 1 2 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 23-4 302 2 3 Brenau 14-6 292 6 4 Lindsey Wilson 17-4 276 8 5 Concordia (Calif.) 15-8 275 7 6 William Carey 15-10 264 9 7 Lewis-Clark State 8-15 243 14 8 Westmont 7-11 239 18 9 SCAD Savannah 9-4 233 13 10 Vanguard 7-11 226 15 11 Indiana Wesleyan 25-5 213 16 12 Campbellsville 14-8 205 17 13 Xavier 7-22 196 19 14 Olivet Nazarene 12-8-1 179 RV 15 Lee (Tenn.) 9-7 170 20 16 Robert Morris (Chicago) 19-3 168 21 17 St. Thomas (Fla.) 5-4 151 23 18 Oklahoma Baptist 10-8 142 24 19 Marian (Ind.) 21-6 129 25 20 Bethel (Kan.) 15-6 115 RV 21 Martin Methodist 11-4 106 22 22 Cumberland 6-10 90 NR 23 Belhaven 14-7 78 RV 24 Nebraska Wesleyan 12-9 70 RV 25 Davenport 21-6 65 RV Others receiving votes: Webber International 61, Georgetown (Ky.) 59, Milligan 56, Northwestern Ohio 36, Graceland 30, SCAD Atlanta 17, Indiana Southeast 15, Hope International 11, Cumberlands 6, Missouri Valley 4.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAATHLETICS

Paine baseball team expects to contend for conference title

AUGUSTA, Georgia  --  After losing the conference championship to a perennial power a year ago, Paine’s baseball team has unfinished business.

With coach Kerby Marshall entering his second year with the program, the team returns most of its bats from a solid offense a year ago, and additional pitching depth, Paine is coming together.

The Lions won 30 games and reached the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship in 2012 before bowing out to Stillman, which won the championship for the fifth time in six years.

“It was a major process to go through without having a team of kids that I recruited,” Marshall said. “We had to learn how to work together to become a good team. I think it was a pretty good season, but it could have been a lot better. This year, we’re definitely going to make another run for it.”

Entering a new season, Paine is returning ...

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Searching for the next Kaepernick, Flacco

NEW ORLEANS -- Call this year's Super Bowl the battle of the QB Davids.

Delaware alum Joe Flacco and Nevada alum Colin Kaepernick were, in college, about as far removed from the glitz and glamour of big-time football as you can imagine.

Which could bode well for the following five quarterback prospects, who all hail from non-traditional football schools.

So, if one of these 2013 NFL draft candidates start in the Super Bowl one day, remember where you heard about them first.



4. James Stallons Specs: 6-6, 210 pounds
School: Shaw University (enrollment: 2,265)

Stats: Stallons' 3,101 passing yards last year shattered the Shaw record by nearly 1,000 yards. He also led the conference with 310.1 yards per game.

Fake scout says: Stallons is a big-armed pocket passer who will have to get rid of the ball quicker if he wants to sniff any playing time at the next level.

Potential Super Bowl puff piece: Stallons is the first white quarterback in Shaw history. A transfer who started his college career at Wisconsin, Stallons says he chose the small North Carolina school because it had won four CIAA championships since 2003.

Odds of playing in a Super Bowl: Slim. Sure, he's big, but unless Stallons develops a Marino-like release or goes to a team with a stellar O-line, he's toast.

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