INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- The Tusculum University women's tennis team is ranked third in the latest NCAA Division II Southeast Region rankings, through matches of April 21.
The Pioneers finished runner-up to Wingate in the South Atlantic Conference Championship tournament after earning the conference regular-season title. Tusculum has a 17-3 overall record and went 10-0 in the SAC during the season.
Wingate, which has already clinched an NCAA berth by winning the SAC tournament championship, holds down the top ranking in the region. Columbus State, champions of the Peach Belt Conference and also an automatic qualifier, is ranked second followed by Tusculum, North Georgia and Queens in the top five. Flagler is ranked sixth, followed by Georgia College, Lenoir-Rhyne and USC Aiken.
The Pioneers are 4-2 against teams in the Southeast Region rankings, including two wins over Lenoir-Rhyne and victories against Wingate and Queens. All three of Tusculum's losses have come to ranked opponents, including Indianapolis which is the top-ranked team in the Midwest Region.
Seven teams will be selected to participate in the NCAA Southeast Regional, including the tournament champion from Conference Carolinas which holds its postseason tournament this weekend. The top two seeds will be host sites for regional play on May 13 and 14, with the site winners moving on to the national tournament May 22-25 in Altamonte Springs, Florida.
The rankings are the official poll utilized by the NCAA in the championship selection process and will continue to be released each week by the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Committee up to the NCAA Championship selections, which will be revealed Tuesday, May 7 at 8:30 p.m.
The latest ITA Division II rankings were also released and show Tusculum unchanged in 17th in the nation. Individually, junior Annie McCullough is ranked 34th in singles and 20th in doubles with partner Caitlin McCullough. Also in doubles, the team of juniors Africa Mota and Julia Lopez is ranked 47th this week.
NCAA Division II Southeast Region Rankings through April 21 1. Wingate 20-1 2. Columbus St. 21-3 3. TUSCULUM 17-3 4. North Georgia 17-5 5. Queens (NC) 13-4 6. Flagler 16-6 7. Georgia College 12-8 8. Lenoir-Rhyne 17-5 9. S.C. Aiken 14-4