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COACH ALAN GREEN
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TENNIS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA |
SANTA BARBARA, California — Xavier University of Louisiana's Loic Didavi, Zach Taylor and Viktor Svoboda defeated ranked singles players Tuesday to lead the ninth-ranked Gold Rush to a 6-3 NAIA men's tennis victory against eighth-ranked Westmont.
Xavier (12-4) has beaten top-10 teams in consecutive duals for the first time in the program's history. The Rush defeated No. 7 Point Loma Nazarene 5-4 on Monday.
Xavier's women, who dropped out of the coaches' top 25 poll Tuesday, lost 5-4 to 21st-ranked Westmont.
Svoboda and Corey Huggins clinched against Westmont (7-7) with their 9-8 (10-3) victory at No. 3 doubles against Lukas Zielen and Joshua Barnard. Didavi and Taylor, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's third-ranked NAIA doubles team, beat second-ranked Bryan Cox and Rodrigo Schaefer 9-8 (11-9).
Didavi, ranked 11th, beat fifth-ranked Cox 6-4, 6-3. No. 17 Taylor defeated No. 23 Schaefer 6-0, 6-3, and 47th-rated Svoboda defeated No. 39 Tim Goranson 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-5).
The XU men are 8-2 this season against ranked NAIA opponents, 3-2 against top-10 teams.
"Our guys are stepping up on this trip," XU coach Alan Green said. "This was another tough battle. These matches are so hard, and I hope they can prepare us for the national tournament. Westmont had a good crowd, and they were loud and on us the whole time."
Although the Gold Nuggets (3-18) dropped their fourth in a row and ninth in the past 10 duals, they earned a pair of singles victories against ranked opponents. XU's Kourtney Howell, ranked 35th, beat No. 38 Nicci Yvanovich 6-3, 6-2. Amanda Materre defeated No. 45 Tara Yekrang (WC) 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-3.
The women's dual was not decided until the final completed match, when Alyson Meyer rallied for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory against Nicole DeLoach at No. 5 singles. Sunset at Westmont's Abbott Tennis Courts, which has no lights, forced Meyer and DeLoach's final set to be moved to Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club in nearby Carpinteria.
Xavier will continue its California trip with duals at 2 p.m. PDT Wednesday against Concordia — whose women are ranked eighth and men are ranked 10th — at Costa Mesa Tennis Center.
Results: Men Women
NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, April 1)
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Last |
| 1 | Fresno Pacific (10) | 16-1 | 250 | 1 |
| 2 | Embry-Riddle (Fla.) | 13-2 | 242 | 2 |
| 3 | Oklahoma Christian | 10-3 | 232 | 3 |
| 4 | Azusa Pacific | 15-1 | 228 | 4 |
| 5 | Auburn Montgomery | 10-7 | 215 | 5 |
| 6 | Point Loma Nazarene | 9-6 | 211 | 7 |
| 7 | Vanguard | 9-7 | 202 | 6 |
| 8 | Westmont | 7-6 | 191 | 10 |
| 9 | Xavier | 10-4 | 186 | 9 |
| 10 | Concordia (Calif.) | 6-8 | 177 | 8 |
| 11 | William Carey | 11-2 | 174 | 11 |
| 12 | Lindsey Wilson | 13-4 | 163 | 12 |
| 13 | Aquinas | 14-1 | 152 | 13 |
| 14 | Bethany (Kan.) | 12-3 | 145 | 14 |
| 15 | Belhaven | 12-2 | 137 | 17 |
| 16 | Cumberland | 8-0 | 134 | 16 |
| 17 | Warner | 11-2 | 117 | 18 |
| 18 | Lee (Tenn.) | 7-5 | 114 | 15 |
| 19 | Campbellsville | 7-4 | 103 | 19 |
| 20 | Martin Methodist | 6-4 | 93 | 20 |
| 21 | Our Lady of the Lake | 6-6 | 89 | 21 |
| 22 | Webber International | 14-5 | 74 | 23 |
| 23 | Northwestern Ohio | 14-4 | 72 | 25 |
| 24 | Lewis-Clark State | 5-7 | 61 | 24 |
| 25 | Shorter | 7-13 | 53 | 22 |
Others receiving votes: Pikeville 41, Olivet Nazarene 35, Spring Arbor 35, McPherson 33, Biola 21, Northwood (Fla.) 19, Roberts Wesleyan 3, Mobile 3, Taylor 1, Indiana Southeast 1, SCAD Savannah 1, Cumberlands 1. |
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NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, April 1)
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Last |
| 1 | Auburn Montgomery (13) | 15-2 | 343 | 1 |
| 2 | Fresno Pacific | 15-4 | 332 | 2 |
| 3 | Embry-Riddle (Fla.) | 15-2 | 321 | 3 |
| 4 | Oklahoma Christian | 7-3 | 309 | 4 |
| 5 | Azusa Pacific | 14-2 | 300 | 5 |
| 6 | Point Loma Nazarene | 10-5 | 285 | 6 |
| 7 | Brenau | 9-3 | 280 | 7 |
| 8 | Concordia (Calif.) | 7-5 | 264 | 8 |
| 9 | William Carey | 11-6 | 257 | 9 |
| 10 | Southern Nazarene | 6-3 | 241 | 10 |
| 11 | SCAD Savannah | 11-2 | 236 | 11 |
| 12 | Lindsey Wilson | 10-2 | 222 | 12 |
| 13 | Shorter | 16-7 | 215 | 13 |
| 14 | Lewis-Clark State | 5-12 | 197 | 14 |
| 15 | Vanguard | 6-9 | 191 | 15 |
| 16 | Indiana Wesleyan | 16-2 | 171 | 17 |
| 17 | Lee (Tenn.) | 8-4 | 167 | 16 |
| 18 | Martin Methodist | 7-3 | 150 | 18 |
| 19 | Campbellsville | 8-4 | 131 | 20 |
| 20 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 4-4 | 129 | 19 |
| 21 | Westmont | 4-7 | 126 | 21 |
| 22 | Robert Morris (Chicago) | 9-1 | 109 | NR |
| 23 | Oklahoma Baptist | 6-7 | 107 | tie-21 |
| 24 | Marian (Ind.) | 19-6 | 89 | 23 |
| 25 | Davenport | 15-5 | 84 | 25 |
Others receiving votes: Xavier 78, Webber International 36, Bethel (Kan.) 35, Belhaven 29, Indiana Southeast 26, Northwestern Ohio 24, Milligan 5, Taylor 5, Nebraska Wesleyan 4, Northwood (Fla.) 3, Cumberlands 1, Olivet Nazarene 1, The Master's 1. |
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By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
"Our guys are stepping up on this trip," XU coach Alan Green said. "This was another tough battle. These matches are so hard, and I hope they can prepare us for the national tournament. Westmont had a good crowd, and they were loud and on us the whole time."
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