NEW ORLEANS —
Xavier University of Louisiana men's tennis, the national runner-up in
2016, 2017 and 2019, was No. 2 in the NAIA preseason coaches poll announced Wednesday.
XULA has earned plenty of
respect in recent preseason polls: 10 consecutive top-10 appearances,
six straight top-4 apearances and five straight top-3 appearances.
Overall it's the 78th consecutive top-10 appearance for XULA dating to 2011.
XULA's top-25 appearance is its 108th in a row,
the longest active streak in NAIA men's tennis.
XULA will play its first dual match of the semester
at noon Feb. 6 at XULA Tennis Center against city rival Loyola. It will be XULA's first-ever
Southern States Athletic Conference competition. XULA is an SSAC associate member in tennis.
There will be seven more polls this season, with the next on Feb. 17.
From that date rankings will be updated every two weeks through April 28.
Georgia Gwinnett received all 13 first-place votes.
The Grizzlies are a unanimous preseason No. 1 for the seventh consecutive year.
XULA is one of six NAIA schools with men's and women's teams earning top-10 preseason rankings.
The others are Cardinal Stritch, Georgia Gwinnett, Keiser, Middle Georgia and William Carey.
XULA's women are ranked third. Middle Georgia and William Carey also are SSAC members.
XULA's active poll streaks in men's tennis:
• 108 consecutive appearances in the top 25 . . . streak began April 4, 2007.
• 99 consecutive appearances in the top 20 . . . streak began April 30, 2008.
• 84 consecutive appearances in the top 15 . . . streak began Feb. 1, 2011.
• 78 consecutive appearances in the top 10 . . . streak began May 3, 2011.
• 6 consecutive appearances in the top 5 . . . streak began May 22, 2019.
NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Preseason Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses) |
Â
| Rank |
Team |
2020-21 Record |
2019-20 Record |
Points |
Last |
| 1 |
Georgia Gwinnett (13) |
0-0 |
14-0 |
343 |
1 |
| 2 |
XULA |
0-0 |
9-1 |
328 |
2 |
| 3 |
Cardinal Stritch |
0-0 |
6-2 |
313 |
3 |
| 4 |
William Carey |
0-0 |
3-0 |
308 |
4 |
| 5 |
Keiser |
0-0 |
10-4 |
301 |
7 |
| 6 |
Reinhardt |
0-0 |
4-0 |
286 |
5 |
| 7 |
Middle Georgia |
0-0 |
4-0 |
275 |
6 |
| 8 |
Lindsey Wilson |
0-0 |
4-0 |
256 |
10 |
| 9 |
Tennessee Wesleyan |
0-0 |
4-4 |
252 |
9 |
| 10 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
14-0 |
28-1 |
245 |
14 |
| 11 |
Point |
0-0 |
6-5 |
236 |
8 |
| 12 |
Mobile |
0-0 |
4-1 |
218 |
12 |
| 13 |
William Woods |
0-0 |
5-2 |
217 |
11 |
| 14 |
San Diego Christian |
0-0 |
4-6 |
203 |
16 |
| 15 |
Cumberlands |
0-0 |
6-3 |
199 |
13 |
| 16 |
Union (Ky.) |
0-0 |
4-4 |
180 |
15 |
| 17 |
Northwestern Ohio |
0-0 |
9-6 |
159 |
17 |
| 18 |
Hope International |
0-0 |
6-5 |
158 |
18 |
| 19 |
Coastal Georgia |
0-0 |
7-3 |
148 |
20 |
| 20 |
Grace |
12-2 |
16-6 |
130 |
RV |
| 21 |
Cumberland |
0-0 |
5-11 |
129 |
RV |
| 22 |
Missouri Valley |
2-0 |
6-3 |
91 |
22 |
| 23 |
Lewis-Clark State |
0-0 |
3-8 |
87 |
23 |
| 24 |
Indiana Tech |
1-0 |
8-5 |
83 |
24 |
| 25 |
McPherson |
0-0 |
5-1 |
72 |
25 |
Dropped from rankings: No. 19 Marian (Ind.), No. 21 Campbellsville
Others receiving votes: Marian (Ind.) 70,
Campbellsville 70, Southeastern (Fla.) 50, Asbury 28, Southwestern (Kan.) 25, Loyola (N.O.) 12,
Judson (Ill.) 10, Ave Maria 6, Midland 5, Texas A&M Texarkana 3
|
