XU wins 10 of 11 in singles at HBCU Championships

JONESBORO, Ga. -- Xavier UniversIty of Louisiana's men's and women's tennis teams won 10 of 11 singles matches Thursday in the HBCU National Championships. Five players -- Jordyn Goody, Kourtney Howell and Amanda Materre on the women's team and Loic Didavi and Viktor Svoboda on the men's -- opened their XU careers with victories.

Xavier, an NAIA member, won all eight of its matches against NCAA Division I.
Howell defeated Alcorn State's Keti Mebuke 6-2, 0-6, 1-0 (10-3) to reach the A-flight quarterfinals. Materre beat Hampton's Tabita Daolo 7-5, 6-0 in the B-flight, Goody beat Savannah State's Ge'Anne Hilton 6-2, 6-0 in the C-flight.

Didavi and Taylor, both second-team All-Americans this past season, both reached the men's A-flight semifinals. Didavi defeated Bowie State's Piotr Kruk 6-1, 6-3 and Alcorn's Ernesto Santillian 6-1, 6-2. Taylor beat North Carolina Central's Jack Waissen 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 and
Bowie's Shikhar Kapur 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (12-10).

In the men's B-flight, Amir Rahbar defeated Prairie View A&M's Trenton Johnson 6-2, 6-4, and Steffen Giles-Osborn lost 6-3, 6-7, 1-0 (10-6) to Bowie's Conner Pickering. Svoboda won 6-0, 6-0 in the C-flight against Hampton's Isaiah Stewart, and Sean Richardson beat Prairie View's Jamaal James 6-2, 6-1.

Svoboda, Richardson and Materre all were up one set in their second matches when rain halted play.

The tournament, Xavier's first of two in the fall semester, will continue through Sunday.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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