NEW ORLEANS — The tennis teams of Xavier University of Louisiana are seeded first in the men's division and second in the women's division of an NAIA unaffiliated group qualifying tournament.
The dual-match event — to be played at Racquet Club of the South in Norcross, Ga., an Atlanta suburb, on Friday and Saturday — is for schools from the Gulf Coast Athletic, TranSouth Athletic and Appalachian Athletic conferences, which do not field sufficient teams to compete for automatic berths to next month's NAIA National Championships. Also competing will be independent SCAD Atlanta, the host school. The men's and women's champions of the unaffiliated group tournament will receive automatic berths to nationals.
The Gold Rush (14-7) are one of three NAIA-ranked men's teams in the qualifier. Xavier is eighth — matching the Gold Rush's highest rank ever — Cumberland (15-1) is 16th and Martin Methodist (7-5) is 19th. Xavier beat Martin Methodist 5-2 in last year's unaffiliated group final.
Martin Methodist (8-3), ranked 17th, is the only top-25 women's team in the event. Xavier (4-21) and Milligan (10-7) received votes in the most recent national poll, with the Gold Nuggets ranking 26th. The XU women lost 5-0 to Milligan in the semifinals a year ago.
Both XU teams will have first-round byes and play in the quarterfinals at 12:30 p.m. EDT Friday. The Gold Rush will play eighth-seeded Milligan or ninth-seeded Bluefield, and the Gold Nuggets will play seventh-seeded Bethel (Tenn.) or 10th-seeded Reinhardt. Semifinals and championship matches will be played Saturday.
The XU men seek their fourth consecutive berth in the national tournament. The Gold Nuggets, who did not qualify a year ago, seek their fourth berth in five years and their sixth in eight seasons.
Xavier has six singles players and one doubles team on the national list of the Campbell's-Intercollegiate Tennis Association NAIA rankings of April 16. In men's singles Loic Didavi is eighth, Zach Taylor 19th, Viktor Svoboda 41st and Steffen Giles-Osborn 47th. In women's singles Kourtney Howell is 27th and Amanda Materre 38th. Didavi and Taylor are No. 4 in men's doubles.
In the ITA NAIA South rankings, Didavi is fourth, Taylor ninth, Svoboda 14th and Giles-Osborn 16th in men's singles. Howell is 12th and Materre 16th in women's singles. In men's doubles Didavi and Taylor are second, and Giles-Osborn and Sean Richardson are ninth.NAIA Unaffiliated Group Tournament MEN Racquet Club of the South, Norcross, Ga. All times Eastern First Round — Friday, April 27 #8 Milligan vs. #9 Bluefield, 8 a.m. Quarterfinals — Friday, April 27 #4 Bethel vs. #5 Tennessee Wesleyan, 10 a.m. #3 Martin Methodist vs. #6 SCAD Atlanta, 10 a.m. #1 Xavier vs. Milligan-Bluefield winner, 12:30 p.m. #2 Cumberland vs. #7 Reinhardt, 12:30 p.m. Semifinals — Saturday, April 28 Xavier-Milligan-Bluefield winner vs Bethel-Tennessee Wesleyan winner, 8:30 a.m. Cumberland-Reinhardt winner vs. Martin Methodist-SCAD Atlanta winner, 8:30 a.m. Championship — Saturday, April 28 Semifinal winners meet at noon |
NAIA Unaffiliated Group Tournament WOMEN Racquet Club of the South, Norcross, Ga. All times Eastern First Round — Friday, April 27 #7 Bethel vs. #10 Reinhardt, 8 a.m. #8 Columbia (S.C.) vs. #9 Bluefield, 8 a.m. Quarterfinals — Friday, April 27 #3 Milligan vs. #6 Tennessee Wesleyan, 10 a.m. #4 SCAD Atlanta vs. #5 Cumberland, 10 a.m. #1 Martin Methodist vs. Columbia-Bluefield winner, 12:30 p.m. #2 Xavier vs. Bethel-Reinhardt winner, 12:30 p.m. Semifinals — Saturday, April 28 Martin Methodist-Columbia-Bluefield winner vs. SCAD Atlanta-Cumberland winner, 8:30 a.m. Xavier-Bethel-Reinhardt winner vs. Milligan-Tennessee Wesleyan winner, 8:30 a.m. Championship — Saturday, April 28 Semifinal winners meet at noon |
By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
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