--- Tusculum College dropped two spots and is listed sixth in this week's NCAA Division II Southeast Region rankings. The Pioneers are one of seven South Atlantic Conference teams listed the poll.

Tusculum went 1-1 last week, dropping a five-set contest to Newberry, before rebounding with a 3-0 sweep over Anderson last Saturday. In Tuesday's home finale, the Pioneers posted a 3-1 win over Mars Hill to complete the season sweep over the Lions (please note that the Mars Hill result is not reflected in this week's rankings, but will be calculated in next week's poll).

The top-three remains the same from last week's initial poll of the year. Wingate holds the top spot, while Armstrong is second followed by Lincoln Memorial in third. Anderson jumps to fourth in this week's poll, while Newberry stays in the No. 5 spot. Tusculum is sixth, followed by Lenoir-Rhyne, Flagler, Montevallo and Mars Hill to round out the regional rankings.

Tournament champions of the South Atlantic Conference, Peach Belt Conference and Conference Carolinas will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament. There will also be five at-large bids to the NCAA postseason, which begins Dec. 5 at campus sites. The NCAA II Elite Eight will be held Dec. 12-14 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Tusculum (19-8, 14-6 SAC) is in quest of its fifth straight NCAA Tournament berth.

TC is currently in second place in the South Atlantic Conference and has won six of its last seven matches. The Pioneers will close out its regular-season schedule this weekend with a pair of road matches. Tusculum will be at 9th-ranked Wingate on Friday for a 7 p.m., before closing out the 2013 regular-seaosn slate with Saturday's noon match at Coker.