2012 NAIA Women's Tennis National Championships Qualifiers Announced
May 07, 2012
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially released the 24 qualifying teams for the 2012 NAIA Women's Tennis National Championship, held May 15-19 in Mobile, Ala. The bracket and pairings for the 32nd annual event will be announced Tuesday by 5 p.m. CDT.
The 24-team field includes 12 squads who earned an automatic berth by winning their respective conference/independent/unaffiliated group tournaments, 10 at-large selections and one host berth. The additional qualifier, Fresno Pacific (Calif.), received an automatic bid by winning the Golden State Athletic Conference regular-season championship. The 10 at-large selections were determined by the final NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll released Monday. Spring Hill (Ala.), of the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC), received the host berth.
Top-ranked Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) leads all qualifiers with 11 national championships all-time, including seven of the last eight and eight since the team head-to-head format began in 2000. Brenau (Ga.), which owns two national titles, and Fresno Pacific, a one-time team champion, are the only other two qualifiers who hold national championships. Auburn Montgomery’s 45-3 record in championship play also tops the field.
Ten schools will be appearing at the National Championships for at least the 10th time in school history, led by the 13 trips each made by Auburn Montgomery, Azusa Pacific and Indiana Wesleyan. Seventeen of the 24 qualifiers return to the championships after appearing last season.
On the other hand, two squads will make their first-ever appearances at the National Championships: Northwestern Ohio and Robert Morris (Ill.) A total of seven teams will be seeking their first wins on the National Championship stage.
The GSAC and SSAC lead all conferences with five members each in the field of 24.
National Championship Qualifiers
| School | Qualification | 2011-12 Record | *Championship Appearances | Last Appearance | Championship Record | Team Titles |
| Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) | Southern States Athletic ConferenceTournament Champion | 22-2 | 13 | 2011 | 45-3 | 11 |
| Azusa Pacific (Calif.) | At-Large No. 1 | 18-3 | 13 | 2011 | 14-12 | 0 |
| Bethel (Kan.) | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 15-5 | 4 | 2011 | 0-3 | 0 |
| Brenau (Ga.) | At-Large No. 3 | 13-4 | 12 | 2011 | 22-10 | 2 |
| Concordia (Calif.) | At-Large No. 4 | 14-7 | 4 | 2011 | 5-3 | 0 |
| Embry-Riddle (Fla.) | The Sun Conference Tournament Champion | 20-3 | 12 | 2011 | 12-11 | 0 |
| Fresno Pacific (Calif.) | Golden State Athletic Conference Regular-Season Champion | 20-4 | 8 | 2011 | 19-5 | 1 |
| Indiana Southeast | Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 18-5 | 4 | 2011 | 0-3 | 0 |
| Indiana Wesleyan | Mid-Central College Conference Tournament Champion | 22-2 | 13 | 2011 | 8-12 | 0 |
| Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | At-Large No. 9 | 7-14 | 12 | 2010 | 9-11 | 0 |
| Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | Mid-South Conference Tournament Champion | 15-3 | 8 | 2011 | 11-7 | 0 |
| Missouri Valley | American Midwest/HAAC/MCC Unaffiliated Group Tournament Champion | 11-4 | 2 | 2009 | 0-1 | 0 |
| Nebraska Wesleyan | Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 12-9 | 5 | 2011 | 0-4 | 0 |
| Northwestern Ohio | American Mideast/WHAC Unaffiliated Group Tournament Champion | 16-9 | First | -- | 0-0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma Christian | Cascade/Frontier/MCAC/RRC/SAC Unaffiliated Group Tournament Champion | 16-3 | 9 | 2011 | 6-8 | 0 |
| Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) | At-Large No. 2 | 16-5 | 13 | 2011 | 15-12 | 0 |
| Robert Morris (Ill.) | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 17-2 | First | -- | 0-0 | 0 |
| SCAD Savannah (Ga.) | At-Large No. 8 | 9-3 | 8 | 2011 | 6-7 | 0 |
| Shorter (Ga.) | At-Large No. 7 | 20-8 | 10 | 2010 | 8-9 | 0 |
| Southern Nazarene (Okla.) | At-Large No. 6 | 12-5 | 10 | 2011 | 11-10 | 0 |
| Spring Hill (Ala.) | Host Berth | 9-4 | 2 | 2004 | 0-1 | 0 |
| Vanguard (Calif.) | At-Large No. 10 | 9-14 | 10 | 2011 | 13-9 | 0 |
| William Carey (Miss.) | At-Large No. 5 | 14-9 | 2 | 2011 | 1-1 | 0 |
| Xavier (La.) | AAC/Independent/GCAC/TranSouth Unaffilated Group Tournament Champion | 7-21 | 6 | 2010 | 5-5 | 0 |
*Includes this year's qualification and all appearances since the team format began in 2000.
