Top 25 – Poll No. 2

By Jake Knabel, NAIA Communications & Sports Information Intern

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the second-straight poll, Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) collected all but one first-place vote and continued its reign atop the NAIA Women’s Tennis Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Lady Senators picked up 12 of 13 first-place votes and earned 343 points after posting three more victories over the past two weeks, including a conference win over Emmanuel (Ga.), to improve to 7-0.

The rest of the top four remained the same as the Feb. 21 poll. No. 2 Fresno Pacific (Calif.) again took one first-place nod and received 332 points. No. 3 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) garnered 321 points and No. 4 Oklahoma Christian reeled in 310 points. Azusa Pacific (Calif.) moved up two spots and enters the top five for the first time since last season’s final release. The Cougars earned 299 points coming off a 7-2 victory over then-No. 11 Westmont (Calif.) in their most recent match.

No. 6 Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) made the largest jump up among teams ranked in the Feb. 21 poll. The Sea Lions leaped up three spots from No. 9 two weeks ago. Point Loma Nazarene has continued to climb after being ranked No. 11 in the preseason. On the other hand, SCAD Savannah (Ga.) fell three positions to No. 11 to mark the biggest drop of teams within the Top 25.

All 25 ranked squads from the Feb. 21 poll retained positions within the rankings.

Eight of the 13 conferences/independents/unaffiliated groupings are represented in the poll with the Southern States Athletic Conference leading all leagues with six Top 25 members: Auburn Montgomery, No. 7 Brenau (Ga.), No. 10 William Carey (Miss.), No. 13 Lee (Tenn.), No. 15 Shorter (Ga.) and No. 21 Belhaven (Miss.).

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences/independents/unaffiliated groupings. The next poll will be released on March 20.

Notes: (All information as of the 2000 season) Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) pushed its NAIA-leading all-time No. 1 appearances to 60 … Brenau (Ga.) is next closest with 10 No. 1 rankings, followed by Fresno Pacific (Calif.) with eight, Shorter (Ga.) with three and Northwood (Fla.) with two … Auburn Montgomery topped each poll from May 5, 2004, to May 1, 2010, a span of 47-straight No. 1 rankings, which is an NAIA record … The next closest streak is just eight by Fresno Pacific, which garnered the top selection in all eight polls in 2011 … Northwood gained its only two No. 1 rankings in school history in 2003 when it went on to win the national championship … Auburn Montgomery won the next six national titles until Fresno Pacific ended that run in 2010 with a championship of its own.

RANK	PVS	SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)	RECORD	TOTAL POINTS
1	1	Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) (12)	7-0	343
2	2	Fresno Pacific (Calif.) (1)	9-0	332
3	3	Embry-Riddle (Fla.)	6-1	321
4	4	Oklahoma Christian	3-0	310
5	7	Azusa Pacific (Calif.)	6-1	299
6	9	Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.)	5-2	281
7	6	Brenau (Ga.)	2-2	275
8	5	Concordia (Calif.)	4-3	267
9	10	Southern Nazarene (Okla.)	0-1	244
10	12	William Carey (Miss.)	2-4	235
11	8	SCAD Savannah (Ga.)	2-2	233
12	11	Vanguard (Calif.)	4-5	231
13	13	Lee (Tenn.)	3-0	213
14	14	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	4-2	211
15	15	Shorter (Ga.)	9-2	194
16	16	Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)	3-9	177
17	17	Indiana Wesleyan	14-0	174
18	19	Martin Methodist (Tenn.)	2-0	158
19	18	SCAD Atlanta (Ga.)	0-0	139
20	20	St. Thomas (Fla.)	1-2	127
21	21	Belhaven (Miss.)	3-2	107
22	22	Campbellsville (Ky.)	1-0	100
23	23	Webber International (Fla.)	6-3	84
24	25	Davenport (Mich.)	11-4	83
25	24	Marian (Ind.)	13-3	78

Others receiving votes: Oklahoma Baptist 77; Westmont (Calif.) 71; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 53; Indiana Southeast 32; Northwood (Fla.) 18; Milligan (Tenn.) 10; Northwestern Ohio 9; Taylor (Ind.) 6; Robert Morris (Ill.) 4; Cumberlands (Ky.) 3; The Master's (Calif.) 3; Xavier (La.) 1; Nebraska Wesleyan 1; Missouri Valley 1.