The Loop

Texas men hook No. 1 ranking

November 02, 2011

The third Golf World/Nike Golf Division I men's coaches' poll of the 2011-12 season brings with it the third different school to claim the top spot. Thanks to its three tournament win streak to close the fall semester, Texas roped 18 of the 23 available first-place votes to earn the No. 1 ranking for the first time since the Golf World poll was revived in 2001-02.

As was the case with last week's women's polls, several of the men's programs in the polls are ranked as high as they've been in the last 10 seasons. Along with the Longhorns, No. 4 Arkansas and No. 10 California find themselves at historic high points; neither program had previously been ranked in the top 10.

The same goes for No. 12 North Florida (previous best was 20th), No. 17 Kent State (matching their previous high) and No. 18 UCF.

After taking a look at the poll you'll also notice a few schools that are conspicuous by their absence.

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For the first time since Golf World revived the poll in 2001-02, Florida is not in the top 25. The Gators had been one of only four programs to appear in all 87 previous editions of the poll, but couldn't make it 88 straight as they were first among schools that were also receiving votes. The three programs now that have appeared all 88 times are Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech and Georgia (although the Bulldogs just held on, having claimed the No. 25 spot in this week's poll).

Texas A&M is also not among the top 25 for the first time since March 2008.

And while Oklahoma State was not in jeopardy of being left out of the top 25, the Cowboys No. 11 ranking is significant nonetheless. It's the first time OSU has been out of the top five in the Golf World poll since April 2008 and the first time it's been out of the top 10 since February 2003 (a streak of 74 straight polls).

There's also a new school holding down the No. 1 spot in the Golf World/Nike Golf Division II men's coaches' poll.

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Lynn University, with two victories and five top-five finishes in five fall starts, claimed the top spot. The Fighting Knights were one of seven programs to received first-place votes, earning four to outpace their rivals and move from their previous No. 3 ranking.

The top spot in the Golf World/Nike Golf Division III men's coaches' poll also has a new tenant.

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Victories at the Golfweek Fall Invitational and the O'Briant-Jensen Memorial gave Guilford the No. 1 ranking. The Quakers earned 15 of 19 available first-place votes to move from No. 4 in the previous poll.

By contrast, the Golf World/Nike Golf NAIA men's coaches' poll had little turnover.

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Oklahoma Christian remained the No. 1 team, earning eight of 14 available first-place votes. The defending NAIA champions have a win at the Texoma Championship and top-four finishes in two Division I tournaments.

Similarly the Golf World/Nike Golf NJCAA Division II men's coaches' poll still sees South Mountain in the No. 1 spot, but the Division I poll has a new leader with Meridian moving from No. 3 to No. 1.

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