Olathe, Kan. - The Lady Saints are ranked number seven in the nation in the NAIA preseason poll released by NAIA officials on Tuesday.
Under the direction of 11th year head coach Buffie Burson , North Georgia finished last season ranked #8 in the nation with a 30-6 overall record and made their fifth consecutive trip to the NAIA national tournament.
The top team in the nation is Southern Nazarene in Oklahoma who received all twelve to the top votes for number one. Rounding out the top five in the nation is Vanguard University, Oklahoma City University, Union University, and Houston Baptist University. The Lady Saints will play #4 Union on December 2 on the road and at home on January 4 in two key national matchups.
The other Southern States Athletic Conference school in the top-25 is Auburn University Montgomery who is ranked #10 in the preseason poll. Berry College, Brewton-Parker College, and Lee University all received votes for the top-25.
|
Rank |
2004 Final |
School |
Record |
Total Points |
|
1 |
2 |
Southern Nazarene (Okla.) |
36-3 |
300 |
|
2 |
3 |
Vanguard (Calif.) |
31-3 |
282 |
|
3 |
1 |
Oklahoma City |
38-2 |
267 |
|
4 |
6 |
Union (Tenn.) |
32-4 |
250 |
|
5 |
5 |
Houston Baptist (Texas) |
33-5 |
247 |
|
6 |
4 |
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) |
315 |
240 |
|
7 |
8 |
North Georgia |
30-6 |
216 |
|
8 |
NR |
The Master's (Calif.) |
20-13 |
215 |
|
9 |
11 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
23-9 |
201 |
|
10 |
10 |
Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) |
25-8 |
185 |
|
11 |
16 |
Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) |
23-13 |
164 |
|
12 |
15 |
John Brown (Ark.) |
21-12 |
148 |
|
13 |
17 |
Columbia (Mo.) |
9-27 |
139 |
|
14 |
13 |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
23-11 |
126 |
|
15 |
12 |
Xavier (La.) |
27-6 |
119 |
|
16 |
23 |
Carroll (Mont.) |
28-7 |
110 |
|
16 |
NR |
Oklahoma Baptist |
21-14 |
110 |
|
18 |
9 |
Cumberland (Ky.) |
28-4 |
67 |
|
19 |
24 |
Azusa Pacific (Calif.) |
20-12 |
66 |
|
20 |
18 |
Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.) |
18-12 |
59 |
|
21 |
25 |
Oklahoma Christian |
21-14 |
55 |
|
22 |
22 |
McKendree (Ill.) |
25-9 |
53 |
|
23 |
NR |
Montana-Western |
22-14 |
52 |
|
24 |
NR |
St. Xavier (Ill.) |
24-9 |
41 |
|
25 |
7 |
Brescia (Ky.) |
30-6 |
38 |
Others Receiving Votes:
Dillard
(La.), 35; Berry (Ga.), 31; Biola (Calif.), 23; Brewton-Parker (Ga.),
19; Park (Mo.), 9; Wayland Baptist (Texas), 8; Lewis-Clark State
(Idaho), 6; Loyola (La.), 6; Langston (Okla.), 4;Lindsey Wilson (Ky.),
4; Lee (Tenn.), 3; Fresno Pacific (Calif.), 1; Montana State-Northern,
1.
