KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In the final NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 before the national tournament, the Loyola Wolf Pack jumped up two spots in the national rankings to No. 22 overall. It's the highest national ranking in program history.
Loyola and No. 6 William Carey, who just met in the finals of the Southern States Athletic Conference Championship, were the only SSAC Teams in the rankings, but Tennessee Southern received votes.
[Full top 25 list]
The Wolf Pack's record stands at 7-5 overall after falling against No. 6 William Carey in the SSAC championship match. Overall, however, it has been a successful season, with the team's record being over .500 for the first time since the 2017-18 season. The team's appearance in the SSAC Championship final was also the program's first.
Alfredo Gallegos leads the Pack in overall victories this season, posting a 7-4 record in singles and 8-4 in doubles alongside Sam Izrael. Gallegos and Izrael are also the 32nd-ranked doubles team in the NAIA.
Samuel Marin is tied for the team lead in singles victories, also with a 7-4 record, and he and Luca Abati have gone 5-4 in doubles. Izrael, Hippolyte de Preville, and Jett Nguyen all have 6-4 singles records, while Abati is 5-5 as a freshman.
Loyola recently picked up four All-Conference honors, as Izrael was named First-Team All-SSAC, and Gallegos, Marin, and de Preville all were Second Team. It was the most All-Conference awards in program history.
The field for the 2026 NAIA Men's Tennis National Championship will be revealed on April 28 during the selection show at 3 p.m. Loyola will need to earn an at-large selection to make its first appearance at the NAIA Championship, which begins on May 12 in Mobile, Alabama.
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