Men?s Tennis National Championship Qualifiers Announced
By Travis Rae, Communications and Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially released the 24 qualifying teams for the 2013 NAIA Men’s Tennis National Championship, held May 14-18 in Mobile, Ala. The bracket and pairings for the 62nd annual event will be announced Tuesday by 5 p.m. CDT.
Five teams come into the national championship with 20 plus wins on the season. Aquinas (Mich.) leads the group with 23 wins this season, while Bethany (Kan.) and Vanguard (Calif.) follow with 22 wins each. Vanguard is the only team in the field that is undefeated with a 22-0 record.
This year’s 24 teams include 13 automatic qualifiers – awarded to conference/independent/unaffiliated group tournament champions – ten at-large bids and one host berth. The 10 at-large selections were determined by the final NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll released Monday. Mobile (Ala.) of the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC), received the host berth.
Two teams will be making their first trip to the national championship including: Doane (Neb.) and Northwestern Ohio.
Making its 14th appearance, the most of any school in the field, is Embry-Riddle (Fla.). Auburn Montgomery (Ala.), Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) and Vanguard are making their 13th appearance. Three teams in the field have won a national championship with Auburn Montgomery (9), Mobile (Ala.) (2) and Belhaven (Miss.) (1).
NeuLion, the NAIA’s official video-streaming company of 12 select NAIA national championship events, will be broadcasting the championship match on May 18. Streaming of the championship match will be free. For more information and to pre-register, click here.
2013 Men’s Tennis National Championship Qualifiers| School | Clinched Berth | Record^ | Appearances* | Last Time | Championship Record | Titles |
| Aquinas (Mich.) | Unaffilliated Group 2 (A.I.I./MCC/WHAC) Tournament Champion | 23-4 | 11th | 2012 | 2-10 | 0 |
| Asbury (Ky.) | Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Tournament Champion | 16-3 | 2nd | 2012 | 0-1 | 0 |
| Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) | Southern States Athletic Tournament Champion | 18-3 | 13th | 2012 | 37-6 | 9 |
| Belhaven (Miss.) | At-Large No. 4 | 15-4 | 2nd | 2012 | 1-1 | 1 |
| Bethany (Kan.) | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Tournament Champion | 22-1 | 10th | 2012 | 1-9 | 0 |
| Bethel (Tenn.) | Unaffiliated Group 1 (AMWC/HAAC/TranSouth) Tournament Champion | 20-1 | 4th | 2009 | 3-3 | 0 |
| Concordia (Calif.) | At-Large No. 3 | 11-12 | 6th | 2012 | 5-5 | 0 |
| Cumberland (Tenn.) | At-Large No. 2 | 17-4 | 3rd | 2012 | 1-2 | 0 |
| Doane (Neb.) | Great Plains Athletic Tournament Champion | 13-7 | First | - | - | - |
| Embry-Riddle (Fla.) | The Sun Tournament Champion | 20-2 | 14th | 2012 | 23-13 | 0 |
| Graceland (Iowa) | At-Large No. 9 | 14-6 | 12th | 2012 | 8-11 | 0 |
| Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | At-Large No. 7 | 7-8 | 13th | 2011 | 7-12 | 0 |
| Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | Mid-South Tournament Champion | 16-3 | 10th | 2012 | 8-10 | 0 |
| Mobile (Ala.) | Host Berth | 9-4 | 6th | 2012 | 0-5 | 2 |
| Northwestern Ohio | At-Large No. 8 | 13-7 | First | - | - | - |
| Northwood (Fla.) | At-Large No. 6 | 12-5 | 8th | 2006 | 4-7 | 0 |
| Oklahoma Baptist | Unaffiliated Group 4 (Frontier/MCAC/RRAC/SAC) Tournament Champion | 15-10 | 2nd | 2007 | 0-1 | 0 |
| Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Tournament Champion | 10-10 | 11th | 2012 | 2-10 | 0 |
| Spring Arbor (Mich.) | Crossroads League Tournament Champion | 17-7 | 2nd | 2012 | 0-1 | 0 |
| Vanguard (Calif.) | Golden State Athletic Tournament Champion | 22-0 | 13th | 2012 | 15-12 | 0 |
| Warner (Fla.) | At-Large No. 10 | 12-9 | 2nd | 2012 | 0-1 | 0 |
| Westmont (Calif.) | At-Large No. 1 | 11-10 | 5th | 2012 | 4-4 | 0 |
| William Carey (Miss.) | At-Large No. 5 | 8-5 | 3rd | 2012 | 2-2 | 0 |
| Xavier (La.) | Unaffiliated Group 3 (AAC/A.I.I./GCAC) Tournament Champion | 14-7 | 5th | 2012 | 3-4 | 0 |
*Includes this year's qualification and all appearances since the team format began in 2000
