KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The NAIA released its fifth Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll of the 2025-26 season on Wednesday, and Loyola is back inside the top 25, with the Wolf Pack checking in at No. 24 this week. It's Loyola's first time being ranked since the national poll on February 25.
The No. 24 Wolf Pack (6-3, 3-1 SSAC) and No. 6 William Carey Crusaders, who meet later today in the regular season finale, are the only ranked teams from the Southern States Athletic Conference. Fellow SSAC team Tennessee Southern is receiving votes, slotted just outside the top 25.
[Full NAIA rankings list]
Since the last rankings were released, Loyola played some of its best tennis of the season against conference foe Mobile, and Loyola swept both singles and doubles competition in a 7-0 home victory. That was the team's only match during the last two weeks, as weather conditions moved last week's William Carey match to this week.
Hippolyte de Preville was named SSAC Men's Tennis Player of the Week for the second time this season for his efforts against Mobile, winning in both singles and doubles. The senior has a 6-2 overall singles record and is one of five players on the team with six singles victories as of Wednesday morning.
Samuel Marin and Jett Nguyen also have 6-2 records, while Alfredo Gallegos and Sam Izrael are both 6-3. Freshman Luca Abati is over .500 for the first time this season after two straight singles wins, as he now has a 4-3 record.
In doubles, Gallegos and Izrael lead the team with a 7-2 overall record, and they rank as the No. 24 doubles team in the NAIA. Abati and Marin have built up momentum with four straight wins, and they have a 5-2 record on the second doubles court. Nguyen and de Preville have won the last two doubles matches together, and both have winning doubles records this season.
Loyola's men's and women's teams will close out the regular season at William Carey this afternoon at 2 p.m. The winner will be crowned SSAC regular season champions and have the top seed in next week's SSAC Championship tournament.
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