Men's Bracket | Men's Final Ranking | Women's Bracket | Women's Final Ranking
MOBILE, Ala. -- The Point Loma Nazarene men's and women's tennis teams will take to the courts at the Copeland-Cox Mobile Tennis Center this week in pursuit of a national title at the single-elimination NAIA National Championships. It is the 13th and final time that both Green and Gold squads will compete in the NAIA National Tournament.
The Sea Lion men, paced by all-conference pick Gregory de Andrade, take on a local team, the University of Mobile, Tuesday at 9 a.m. (CDT). The 12-10 PLNU team finished No. 9 in the final NAIA rating, while the Rams are unranked and bring in a 7-5 overall mark. UM has won a pair of NAIA titles, in 1993 and 1997. If PLNU wins on Tuesday, the Sea Lions will meet up with Xavier (La.). The No. 7-ranked Gold Rush is 17-7 on the year. On April 2, UXLA defeated PLNU in San Diego by a 5-4 score.
The Point Loma ladies, led by All-GSAC honorees Maika Adair and Jessica Kwan, have a first-day bye. At 1 p.m. on Wednesday, the Sea Lions will meet up with the winner of Tuesday's Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), Northwestern Ohio match. LWU, with a 15-3 record and a No. 11 ranking, are certainly the favorites for PLNU to play. UNO (16-9) is making its first appearance at nationals.
Overall on the women's side, top-seeded defending champion Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) takes aim at its 12th national title in school history and headlines the 24-team field. Sophomore Jade Curtis, 17-0 at No. 2 singles this season, returns to lead the Warhawks after garnering the Marvin P. Richmond Outstanding Player award at last season's championships. Senior teammate Ana Veselinovic, 18-2 at No. 1 singles this season, is the top-rated singles player in the NAIA, according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Auburn Montgomery awaits the winner between No. 16 Vanguard (Calif.) and No. 17 Xavier (La.) in a second-round matchup Wednesday at 9 a.m.
Second-seeded Fresno Pacific (Calif.), who ended the Warhawks' streak of six-straight national titles by defeating them in the 2010 title match, has finished runner-up to Auburn Montgomery in five of the past six years. The Sunbirds boast four of the NAIA's top 30 singles players in the ITA rankings, headed by freshman Katarena Paliivets at No. 5. Fresno Pacific, who will play either No. 15 Indiana Wesleyan or No. 18 Robert Morris (Ill.) in the second round, went 16-0 in Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) play and is 102-0 all-time in GSAC action.
Brenau (Ga.), which owns two national titles, and Fresno Pacific, a one-time team champion, are the only other two qualifiers in this year's field who hold national championships. Auburn Montgomery also tops the field with a 45-3 record in championship play.
Four programs, Auburn Montgomery, fifth-seeded Azusa Pacific (Calif.), sixth-seeded Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) and Indiana Wesleyan have made the field every single year since the championships moved to a team format in 2000. A total of 10 schools will be appearing at the National Championships for at least the 10th time since 2000. 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.
On the men's side, top-ranked Fresno Pacific sets its sights on its second-straight title and third in four years. The Sunbirds enjoyed a 22-1 regular season in which they were placed at No. 1 in all eight Top 25 polls. Fresno Pacific will lean on the ITA's third, 20th and 24th-rated singles players in Xavier Smith, Kirill Sinitsyn and Cledson Carvalho, respectively, as it goes for the school's third national championship behind 2011 NAIA Men's Tennis Coach of the Year Neil Castro. Either No. 16 Cumberland (Tenn.) or No. 17 Warner (Fla.) will advance to take on the Sunbirds in round two.
Second-seeded, Embry-Riddle (Fla.), who lost to Fresno Pacific in last year's title match by a 5-1 score, hopes for another big performance from senior Chris Freeman, the 2011 Ward-Ballinger Outstanding Player at the National Championships. Freeman, the second-ranked singles player in the NAIA by the ITA, led the Eagles to their first title match appearance in school history last season. Embry-Riddle will draw the winner between No. 15 Belhaven (Miss.) and No. 18 Campbellsville (Ky.) in second-round action on Wednesday.
Fifth-ranked Auburn Montgomery leads all men's qualifiers with nine national championships won all-time. Mobile and Fresno Pacific follow with two apiece, while Azusa Pacific, Belhaven 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.
Two programs, second-seeded Embry-Riddle and fourth-seeded Azusa Pacific, have made the field every single year since the championship moved to a team format in 2000. Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) had also made every one until having its streak snapped in 2012. A total of nine schools will be appearing at the National Championships for at least the 10th time since 2000. 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, Spring Arbor (Mich.) and Warner, while Belhaven, the 1983 national champion, is appearing for the first time in the team-format era. A total of nine teams will be seeking their first wins on the National Championship stage.
The Championships will culminate with men's and women's title matches on Saturday (May 19). First serve is set for 10 a.m. for the women and 2 p.m. for the men.
