Oklahoma State, Chico State and Guilford all return as the No. 1 teams in the D-I, D-II and D-III Golf World/Nike Golf coaches' poll with Oklahoma Christian passing Oklahoma City in the latest NAIA poll.
Oklahoma State's victory at the Insperity Augusta State Invitational this past weekend came after the voting closed on April 1, but it was reinforced the notion that the Cowboys had separated themselves from the rest of their D-I opponents. It was their sixth victory of the season and their third with top player Peter Uihlein sitting out to compete in a professional or amateur event.
UCLA and Alabama stayed in the Nos. 2 and 3 spots while Georgia Tech and Florida flip flopped at Nos. 4 and 5.
Two new teams joined the top 10—No. 6 Augusta State, after winning the General Jim Hackler Invitational and finished second at the Hootie at Bulls Bay event, and No. 9 Texas A&M.
Ohio State was the only school to join the top 25, coming in at No. 24. It was the first time the Buckeyes had appeared in the GW/Nike Golf poll since April 2002.
Chico State's lead over Lynn atop the D-II poll is only 10 points and each school received five first-place votes. The Wildcats have finished first or second in seven of their eight tournaments in the 2010-11 season, including a runner-up finish in last week's Grand Canyon Thunderbird Invitational.
Guilford, with a victory at the Pine Needles Intercollegiate, its fourth team title this season, claimed the top spot in the GW/Nike Golf Division III coaches' poll. The Quakers claimed 11 of the 16 first-place votes and have one more tournament (the Emory Spring Invitational) before the conference championship.
Oklahoma Christian, with victories at the UST Mamiya Texas Intercollegiate and the Midwestern State Invitational, climbed to the No. 1 ranking in the GW/Nike Golf NAIA coaches' poll for the first time during the 2010-11 season, claiming seven of 10 first-place votes. Previous No. 1 Oklahoma City dropped to No. 2 in the poll, earning the last three first-place votes. The Stars were seventh at the UST event, but have won four team titles this season.
Meanwhile, in the inaugural edition of the Golf World/Nike Golf junior college poll, Indian Hills earned the top spot, claiming six of the eight first-place votes. The Warriors came in sixth in the UST event to start their spring season, the highest finish of any two-year program, then won the John A. Logan Invitational the last week of March.
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