KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the seventh straight week the Belhaven men's tennis team made an appearance on the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' poll, as released by the national office on Monday afternoon. The Belhaven women finished their 2013 season in the receiving votes category.
The Belhaven men have been idle since last week's poll and are awaiting their matchup for the NAIA National Tournament, which will be released by the national office on Tuesday afternoon. The Blazers found out they would officially be a part of the tournament on Monday—earning the fourth at-large bid.
Belhaven defeated Lee University in the first round of the SSAC tournament 5-0 before defeating then-No. 7 William Carey 5-3 in the tournament semifinals later that day. In the conference title match, No. 2 Auburn-Montgomery proved too tough for the Blazers in a 5-1 to claim their eighth straight SSAC men's tennis championship.
Auburn-Montgomery remained at No. 2 after winning the SSAC tournament once again. Belhaven was the second best team in the SSAC, moving up three spots to a season-high 11
th ranking in the NAIA. William Carey finished the regular season at 13
th after hovering in the top 10 for a majority of the season. Coastal Georgia and Mobile are currently in the receiving votes category. Mobile earned a bid to the national tournament as the host site.
On the women's side, Belhaven fell out of the top 25 two weeks ago after a series of tough losses. The Blazers were bumped from the SSAC tournament by William Carey, who later lost to eventual SSAC champion Auburn-Montgomery. They were not amongst the field released by the national office on Monday.
You can see the full polls for the men
here.