2012 NAIA Men’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 Men's Tennis National Championship, held May 15-19 in Mobile, Ala. The bracket and pairings for the 61st 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 (GSAC) regular-season championship. 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, received the host berth.
Fifth-ranked Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) leads all qualifiers with nine national championships won all-time. Mobile and Fresno Pacific follow with two apiece, while Azusa Pacific (Calif.), Belhaven (Miss.) and Oklahoma Christian each own one national title. Auburn Montgomery’s 36-5 mark in National Championship play is the best among this year’s qualifiers.
Nine schools will be appearing at the National Championships for at least the 10th time in school history, led by the 13 trips made by both Azusa Pacific and Embry-Riddle (Fla.). Eighteen of the 24 qualifiers also made the field in 2011.
On the other hand, four squads will make their first-ever appearances at the National Championships: Asbury (Ky.), Campbellsville (Ky.), Spring Arbor (Mich.) and Warner (Fla.). A total of nine teams will be seeking their first wins on the National Championship stage since the team head-to-head format began in 2000.
The GSAC leads all conferences with six members in the field of 24. The Southern States Athletic Conference is next with four National Championship qualifiers.
National Championship Qualifiers
| School | Qualification | 2011-12 Record | *Championship Appearances | Last Appearance | Championship Record | Team Titles |
| Aquinas (Mich.) | American Mideast/WHAC Unaffiliated Group Tournament Champion | 25-2 | 10 | 2011 | 1-9 | 0 |
| Asbury (Ky.) | Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 14-6 | First | -- | 0-0 | 0 |
| Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) | Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 16-7 | 12 | 2011 | 36-5 | 9 |
| Azusa Pacific (Calif.) | At-Large No. 1 | 19-2 | 13 | 2011 | 25-11 | 1 |
| Belhaven (Miss.) | At-Large No. 7 | 15-3 | First | -- | 0-0 | 1 |
| Bethany (Kan.) | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 21-3 | 9 | 2011 | 0-8 | 0 |
| Campbellsville (Ky.) | At-Large No. 10 | 14-6 | First | -- | 0-0 | 0 |
| Concordia (Calif.) | At-Large No. 6 | 8-12 | 5 | 2011 | 4-4 | 0 |
| Cumberland (Tenn.) | At-Large No. 8 | 17-2 | 2 | 2007 | 0-1 | 0 |
| Embry-Riddle (Fla.) | The Sun Conference Tournament Champion | 18-3 | 13 | 2011 | 21-12 | 0 |
| Fresno Pacific (Calif.) | Golden State Athletic Conference Regular-Season Champion | 22-1 | 7 | 2011 | 16-4 | 2 |
| Graceland (Iowa) | American Midwest/HAAC/MCC Unaffiliated Group Tournament Champion | 9-6 | 11 | 2011 | 8-10 | 0 |
| Hastings (Neb.) | Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 12-8 | 3 | 2011 | 0-2 | 0 |
| Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | Mid-South Conference Tournament Champion | 18-5 | 9 | 2011 | 7-9 | 0 |
| Mobile (Ala.) | Host Berth | 7-5 | 5 | 2011 | 0-4 | 2 |
| Oklahoma Christian | Cascade/Frontier/MCAC/RRAC/SAC Unaffiliated Group Tournament Champion | 16-3 | 10 | 2011 | 11-8 | 0 |
| Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 15-4 | 10 | 2011 | 2-9 | 1 |
| Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) | At-Large No. 4 | 12-10 | 12 | 2011 | 8-11 | 0 |
| Spring Arbor (Mich.) | Mid-Central College Conference Tournament Champion | 22-1-1 | First | -- | 0-0 | 0 |
| Vanguard (Calif.) | At-Large No. 2 | 14-10 | 12 | 2011 | 14-11 | 0 |
| Warner (Fla.) | At-Large No. 9 | 13-4 | First | -- | 0-0 | 0 |
| Westmont (Calif.) | At-Large No. 3 | 11-9 | 4 | 2011 | 3-3 | 0 |
| William Carey (Miss.) | At-Large No. 5 | 16-4 | 2 | 2011 | 1-1 | 0 |
| Xavier (La.) | AAC/Independent/GCAC/TranSouth Unaffilated Group Tournament Champion | 17-7 | 4 | 2011 | 2-3 | 0 |
*Includes this year's qualification and all appearances since the team format began in 2000.
