INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- The Tusculum University women's tennis team has moved into eighth in the NCAA Division II Southeast Region rankings, the NCAA announced this week.

The Pioneers were not among the first group of 10 teams listed as under consideration in the first rankings of the season released last week. Their eighth-place ranking this week does not include victories for the Pioneers over Wingate (fifth), Newberry (sixth) and Catawba (seventh) over the last four days.

Flagler holds the top spot in the Southeast Region rankings, with Columbus State, North Georgia and Georgia College all from the Peach Belt Conference in the top four. Erskine is the other ranked team listed this week, coming in ninth from Conference Carolinas.

A total of seven teams will qualify for the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championship from the Southeast Region. Three bids will go to the conference tournament champions from the SAC, the Peach Belt Conference and Conference Carolinas, with four at-large selections. Preliminary round action will begin on campus sites on Monday, May 1.

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.

Tusculum (15-5, 11-1 SAC) is the top seed in the SAC Championship tournament and will play a quarterfinal match on Thursday, April 20 at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, South Carolina.

NCAA Division II Women's Tennis
Southeast Region rankings - April 12, 2023