It was the first time this season that the Gold Rush (15-8) failed to win at least once in singles.
Xavier's only points came in doubles, where Loic Didavi and Kyle Montrel defeated Stefan Kilchhofer and Roger Muri 8-5 at the No. 1 flight, and Nikita Soifer and Viktor Svoboda beat Lukas Larsson and Robin Wagner 8-5 at No. 2. A year ago, when Vanguard beat Xavier 6-3 during the regular season, the Lions won all three doubles matches.
Xavier, seeded sixth, was eliminated in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year. Vanguard (24-0), seeded third, will play second-seeded Auburn Montgomery in the semifinals at 9 a.m. Friday.
Muri clinched for the Lions at No. 2 singles when he defeated Soifer 6-2, 6-4. Muri is 22-0 in singles this season. But not every Vanguard winning streak remained intact. Didavi and Montrel became the first doubles team this season to defeat Kilchhofer and Muri, who entered 8-0.
It was more of the same for Soifer and Svoboda, who finished the season with a seven-match win streak and 15 wins in their last 16 doubles matches.
But Vanguard, like every other Xavier opponent this season, received two effortless points because of the Gold Rush's five-player roster — resulting in defaults at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles — and took the lead for good when Yahor Kryvaruchka defeated Svoboda 7-5, 6-1 at No. 4. Svoboda lost for just the second time in his final 15 singles matches of the season.
Daymon Johnson gave Vanguard a 4-2 lead when he beat Benjamin Brading 6-2, 6-2 at No. 5. Muri then clinched, leaving Didavi and Montrel on the court in matches which appeared headed for third sets.
"It was a pretty good match, although we lost," said XU coach Alan Green, whose Gold Rush were appearing at nationals for the fifth consecutive year. "I think we gained a lot of respect from every team that watched us play. We got congratulated by a lot of people, including Vanguard's coach, about how amazing our team was to be at nationals with five players and playing at such a high level.
"We gave Vanguard a scare. But all the credit should go to Vanguard. They hung tough and did what they had to do. Some of their players were starting to cramp up during singles because of the heat, but they were able to finish. Their 1-2 singles players, Kilchhofer and Muri, are legit."
Playing his final dual for the Rush was Didavi, the team's only senior. He was 41-12 in singles and 45-13 in doubles in two seasons at Xavier after transferring from Auburn Montgomery. On Monday he was announced as the ITA NAIA National Senior Player of the Year.
"Our guys leave here with heads held high," Green said. "We battled all season, even though we were short a player. We never backed down from anybody."
Not only is this the first XU program to reach the NAIA quarterfinals in consecutive years, but the Gold Rush also finished at least seven victories above .500 for the second consecutive year, another program first. That's impressive when you consider the schedule during that time: 27 duals against ranked NAIA opponents, 12 against NCAA Division I teams. Eighty percent of the Rush's schedule came against those opponents.
Results
By Ed Cassiere, SID
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAATHLETICS
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