2016 NAIA Women's Golf Top 25 Coaches' Poll - No. 1 (Sept. 30)
OIT No. 24
By Nikki Sherrill, Communications & Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The two-time defending national champions remain in the No. 1 spot for another week as Keiser (Fla.) is ranked in the top place in the NAIA Women’s Golf Top 25 Coaches’ Poll. After garnering 10 first-place votes and 485 total points, the Seahawks are again the top team in the nation, the national office announced Friday. The next Top 25 poll will be released Friday, Nov. 4.
Top 25 highlights (historical information dates back to 1999):
• No. 1 Keiser (Fla.) is ranked in the top spot for the third-straight poll. Last season, it was ranked in the top two the entire year, and has continued that streak into the first regular-season poll of 2016.
• No. 2 SCAD Atlanta (Ga.) moved up seven spots and received the other eight first-place votes this week. Cumberlands (Ky.) slid up two spots to No. 3, while No. 4 SCAD Savannah (Ga.) and No. 5 Oklahoma City both fell back one spot to round out the top five.
• Three teams had major positive movement this week with No. 13 Faulkner (Ala.) leading the way after jumping up 10 spots. No. 8 Campbellsville (Ky.) was not far behind as it moved up nine spots, and No. 2 SCAD Atlanta also made positive movements from No. 9 in the previous poll.
• There were equally big changes on the negative side of the poll with No. 19 Wayland Baptist (Texas) pushing back eight spots and No. 16 Bellevue (Neb.) falling six places.
• There are three newcomers in this poll as No. 21 Northwestern (Ohio) is ranked for the first time in program history. Two teams tied at No. 24 – Oregon Tech and Cumberland (Tenn.) – are also now ranked after being unranked in the last poll.
• Three teams have fallen out of the national rankings as Victoria (B.C.), Arizona Christian and Lawrence Tech (Mich.) all find themselves receiving votes this week.
• Thirteen of the 21 conference/unaffiliated groups are represented in this edition.
• The Sun Conference and Southern States Athletic Conference both are represented with the highest amount of teams, bringing four programs into the poll. The Mid-South Conference and Sooner Athletic Conference are represented by three teams.
• Only three teams have gone the entire season ranked No. 1 – British Columbia (2001) Oklahoma City (2003, 2004, 2006, 2008) and Keiser (Fla.) (2015).
Poll Methodology:
• The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and the Association of Independent Institutions.
• The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place and so on through the list.
• The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low ratings) is removed and the team’s ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appears on.
• Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes”
• The frequency of polls occur bi-weekly for the 2016-17 season.
• For the complete Top 25 calendar, click
here.
2016-17 Women’s Golf Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 1 (Sept. 30)
| RANK |
LAST |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
FINAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Keiser (Fla.) (10) |
485 |
| 2 |
9 |
SCAD Atlanta (Ga.) |
471 |
| 3 |
5 |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
455 |
| 4 |
3 |
SCAD Savannah (Ga.) |
448 |
| 5 |
4 |
Oklahoma City |
427 |
| 6 |
7 |
Dalton State (Ga.) |
418 |
| 7 |
2 |
William Woods (Ga.) |
392 |
| 8 |
17 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
364 |
| 9 |
13 |
William Carey (Miss.) |
362 |
| 10 |
6 |
USC Beaufort (S.C.) |
359 |
| 11 |
15 |
British Columbia |
356 |
| 12 |
8 |
Texas Wesleyan |
312 |
| 13 |
23 |
Faulkner (Ala.) |
290 |
| 14 |
11 |
Indiana Tech |
280 |
| 15 |
19 |
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) |
265 |
| 16 |
10 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
259 |
| 17 |
20 |
Marian (Ind.) |
254 |
| 18 |
14 |
Milligan (Tenn.) |
239 |
| 19 |
11 |
Wayland Baptist (Texas) |
218 |
| 20 |
21 |
William Penn (Iowa) |
180 |
| T21 |
16 |
Coastal Georgia |
171 |
| T21 |
NR |
Northwestern Ohio |
171 |
| 23 |
18 |
Thomas (Ga.) |
150 |
| T24 |
NR |
Oregon Tech |
120 |
| T24 |
NR |
Cumberland (Tenn.) |
120 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Victoria (B.C.) (RV); Arizona Christian (RV); Lawrence Tech (Mich.) (RV)
Others receiving votes: Bethel (Ind.) 64; Southeastern (Fla.) 64; Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 60; Point (Ga.) 58; Victoria (B.C.) 37; Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 32; Arizona Christian 25; Madonna (Mich.) 23; Indiana Wesleyan 22; Morningside (Iowa) 8; Lawrence Tech (Mich.) 7; Saint Francis (Ind.) 4; St. Andrews (N.C.) 4