Women’s Golf Top 25 Poll – No. 2
By Alan Grosbach, Manager of Communications & Sports Information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the third-consecutive poll, Oklahoma City is ranked No. 1 in the 2012 NAIA Women’s Golf Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Friday. The Stars, who finished second at the Battle at Primm in Primm, Nev., on Tuesday, collected five first-place votes and 396 total points. Oklahoma City’s second-place finish was led by three top-10 individual finishes, including a third-place by Jessica Schiele (78-72-150) and a fifth-place by Taylor Howard (77-74-151).
Lee (Tenn.) remained No. 2 with 392 points and claimed five first-place votes, while British Columbia jumped one spot to No. 3 with 385 points and five first-place votes. The Lady Flames continued their winning ways, claiming a sixth-straight title with a victory at the SCAD Spring Invitational on Tuesday, while the Thunderbirds jump was propelled by a first-place finish at the Battle at Prim.
William Woods (Mo.) leapfrogs two spots to No. 4 with 364 points, while Embry-Riddle (Fla.) fell from No. 3 to No. 5 this week with 356 points.
For the second week in a row, Oklahoma Christian made the biggest jump in this week’s poll, leaping from No. 16 to 12th after a third-place finish at the Battle at Primm. Conversely, South Carolina Beaufort (S.C.) experienced the largest drop, falling back four spots to No. 10.
Three newcomers are present in this week’s poll: No. 23 Oklahoma Baptist, No. 24 Cumberland (Tenn.) and No. 25 William Penn. (Iowa).
Eleven conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups are represented throughout the Top 25, led by six squads from the Sooner Athletic Conference: Oklahoma City, No. 8 Lubbock Christian (Texas), Oklahoma Christian, No. 16 Wayland Baptist (Texas), No. 19 Southern Nazarene (Okla.) and Oklahoma Baptist.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups. The next poll will be released on April 13.
Notes: (All information dates back to 2000 season) Nine different programs have been ranked No. 1 … Oklahoma City owns the most No. 1-rankings with 38, followed by British Columbia with 11 … No other programs have been listed first more than three total times … There have been five preseason No. 1s that have gone on to win the national championship with the last happening in 2011 … Oklahoma City and British Columbia have both owned the top-spot in the poll for the duration of a season … The Stars were listed at No. 1 for all of 2008, 07, 04, and 03 and the Thunderbirds topped the list for all of 2001.
| RANK | PVS | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Oklahoma City (5) | 396 |
| 2 | 2 | Lee (Tenn.) (5) | 392 |
| 3 | 4 | British Columbia (5) | 385 |
| 4 | 6 | William Woods (Mo.) | 364 |
| 5 | 3 | Embry-Riddle (Fla.) | 356 |
| 6 | 5 | Northwood (Fla.) | 330 |
| 7 | 7 | Shorter (Ga.) | 327 |
| 8 | 9 | Lubbock Christian (Texas) | 318 |
| 9 | 11 | SCAD Savannah (Ga.) | 301 |
| 10 | 6 | South Carolina Beaufort (S.C.) | 281 |
| 11 | 12 | Cal State San Marcos | 267 |
| 12 | 16 | Oklahoma Christian | 256 |
| 13 | 14 | Concordia (Ore.) | 244 |
| 14 | 11 | Victoria (B.C.) | 243 |
| 15 | 12 | Bethel (Ind.) | 220 |
| 16 | 19 | Wayland Baptist (Texas) | 209 |
| 17 | 15 | Westminster (Utah) | 205 |
| 18 | 18 | College of Idaho | 188 |
| 19 | 21 | Southern Nazarene (Okla.) | 177 |
| 20 | 20 | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 155 |
| 21 | 22 | Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) | 142 |
| 22 | 24 | Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) | 130 |
| 23 | RV | Oklahoma Baptist | 114 |
| 24 | RV | Cumberland (Tenn.) | 75 |
| 25 | RV | William Penn (Iowa) | 73 |
Others receiving votes: Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 71; Saint Francis (Ind.) 59; Rogers State (Okla.) 55; Grand View (Iowa) 34; Mobile (Ala.) 22; Bethel (Tenn.) 20; Morningside (Iowa) 13; Madonna (Mich.) 12; Viterbo (Wis.) 9; Texas at Brownsville 9; Union (Ky.) 8; Indiana Tech 1; Marian (Ind.) 1.
