JONESBORO, Ga. -- The women's and men's teams of Xavier University of Louisiana won every contested match Saturday and advanced to the championship duals of an NAIA unaffiliated group qualifying tournament.
The Gold Nuggets, playing for the first time since being voted No. 1 in the NAIA on Tuesday, defeated Fisk 5-0 in the quarterfinals and Tennessee Wesleyan 5-0 in the semifinals. The Gold Rush, ranked fifth, had a bye in the quarterfinals, then defeated SCAD Atlanta 6-2 in the semifinals.
Xavier (12-7) will play Milligan (9-11) for the men's championship at 10 a.m. EDT Sunday at Clayton County Tennis Center, then the Gold Nuggets (16-7) will play 19th-ranked SCAD Atlanta (7-2) for the women's title no sooner than 1 p.m. Winners will receive automatic bids to next month's NAIA National Championship at Mobile, Ala.
The Gold Nuggets extended their win streak to eight duals, their longest streak since 2005. Kourtney Howell and Brion Flowers, named this week as the ITA's top-ranked NAIA doubles team, extended their win streak to eight by defeating Fisk's De'Erin Rogan and Raven Ward 8-0 and Tennessee Wesleyan's Ekaterina Vezhenkova and Tatum McMahon 8-0. Teammate Amanda Materre also was in a zero-tolerance mood; she defeated Fisk's Latrice Cooper 6-0, 6-0, then beat Tennessee Wesleyan's Bridget Malone 6-0, 6-0.
Amber Brown won 6-0, 6-0 against Jayden Morrison to clinch the Tennessee Wesleyan dual. It was Brown's fourth consecutive singles victory, a season best for her.
The Gold Rush again defaulted at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles because of five available players but won the other two doubles matches and four times in singles. Viktor Svoboda and Nikita Soifer won for the 12th time in their last 13 doubles matches with an 8-1 decision against Denzel Hollis and David Paull, and Kyle Montrel beat Alex Maeda 6-0, 6-1 for his 12th victory in his last 14 singles matches.
Soifer clinched the dual with a 6-4, 6-2 singles victory against Michael Vea. The XU men have won three straight and 11 of their last 14 duals.
The Rush reached the championship round of a conference/unaffiliated group tournament for the 11th consecutive season. The Nuggets reached the final for the 11th time in 12 seasons. Both Xavier teams won this event a year ago.
Results: Men vs. SCAD Atlanta Women vs. Fisk Women vs. Tennessee Wesleyan
By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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