KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Belhaven tennis teams both made appearances in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll for the second straight time, as released by the NAIA national office on Tuesday afternoon.

The Blazer men held strong at the No. 12 spot in the poll despite a dominant 3-0 start to the 2013 season. Belhaven opened the year two weeks ago with a 7-2 victory over conference opponent Loyola in New Orleans before beating Tougaloo and Jackson State at home last week.

Due to the soft nature of the opening part of their schedule, the Blazers did not receive enough confidence points to move up in the poll. As the schedule gets tougher, the Blazers will be able to climb the polls faster with each victory.
Belhaven is one of four Southern States Athletic Conference schools inside the top 25 with the others being Auburn-Montgomery (2), William Carey (6), Coastal Georgia (24).

On the women's side, Belhaven moved up one spot to 22nd  in the NAIA after sound victories over Loyola and Tougaloo. The Blazers performed well in their first team matches despite having young players at top positions in the lineup, but they have their first big test on Saturday afternoon.

Belhaven will travel down to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to take on the No.  15 Lee Flames in an early season conference match. The Blazers will have a chance to prove that they belong in the class of the SSAC with a statement victory against the Lady Flames.

The SSAC placed five women's teams in the top 25 with Auburn-Montgomery and Brenau sitting at No. 1 and No. 2 in the country respectively. William Carey also sits in the top 10, ranked seventh. 

Belhaven's matches with Lee University will begin at noon on Saturday afternoon.