Kansas City, Mo. – The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference is represented by #10 Bethany College and #17 McPherson in the first regular season edition of the 2013 NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Postseason Top 25 Poll.  The National Office announced the poll on Tuesday, February 18.

Bethany makes the biggest jump this week as they improved three spots from No. 10 to No. 7. The Swedes are currently 6-1 on the season with its lone loss coming to NCAA Division I Wichita State, in their season opener. Currently, the Swedes are on a six-match winning streak.

McPherson remains in the preseason ranking of #17.  Similar to Bethany, McPherson's lone loss came at the hands of Wichita State.  They sit at 6-1 on the season.

For the second-straight week, Embry-Riddle (Fla.) has claimed the No. 1 ranking in the poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Eagles collected nine-of-12 first-place votes and tallied 310 points to earn the No.1 spot.

Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) received two first-place votes and notched 302 points to come in at No. 2. The Warhawks are 3-1 this season and have won two-straight matches. Two of three wins for Auburn Montgomery, against Emmanuel (Ga.) and Martin Methodist (Tenn.), have been 9-0 victories. The other win for the Warhawks was against NCAA Division III Emory (Ga.) by a score of 5-4. Its lone loss was to NCAA Division II West Florida, 5-4.

No. 3 belongs to Vanguard (Calif.) with 293 points. The Lions are a perfect 4-0 on the season. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and Westmont (Calif.) come in at Nos. 4 and 5, tallying 282 and 266 points, respectively.

Joining the Top 25 this week is No. 15 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) and No. 21 Oklahoma Baptist. Lewis-Clark State is 2-1 and has victories over NCAA Division III Whitworth (Wash.) and NCAA Division III Whitman (Wash.) Oklahoma Baptist is 1-2 on the year with losses too, then-No. 10 Bethany and then-No. 8 Xavier (La.). The Bison's win came against NCAA Division I Prairie View A&M.

Falling out of the Top 25 is Biola (Calif.) (No. 24) and Lee (Tenn.) (No. 25).

Eleven of the 13 conferences/independents/unaffiliated groupings are represented throughout the Top 25, led by the Mid-South Conference with five teams in the Top 25. Southern States Athletic Conference follows with four teams.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences/independents/unaffiliated groupings. The second regular-season poll will be announced on March 5.

Notes: (All information as of the 2000 season) Auburn Montgomery's (Ala.) 27 top mentions are the most all-time, followed by former-NAIA members Azusa Pacific (Calif.) and Fresno Pacific (Calif.), who each have 23 ... Oklahoma City has appeared at No. 1 a total of 13 times, while SCAD Savannah (Ga.) has topped the poll twice ... Fresno Pacific became the sixth preseason top selection to go on to win the national title in 2011 ... Auburn Montgomery was the last to accomplish the feat prior to Fresno Pacific, as the Warhawks did so in 2008 ... This is the second time Embry-Riddle (Fla.) has been ranked No. 1... The top four remain the same as the preseason poll.

2013 Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 - No. 1

Others receiving votes: Northwood (Fla.) 45; Biola (Calif.) 39; Indiana Wesleyan 34; Missouri Valley 25; Lee (Tenn.) 24; Davenport (Mich.) 23; Asbury (Ky.) 14; Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 12; Bethel (Tenn.) 6; Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 6.

See Also:

Seventeen Named KCAC Men's Tennis Scholar-Athletes

Bethany Men's Tennis Ranked #14 in Postseason Poll

2012 Daktronics-NAIA Men's Tennis Scholar Athletes