HATTIESBURG, Mississippi -- Xavier University of Louisiana, winners against 17 ranked NAIA tennis opponents a year ago, defeated two more high-profile teams Friday.The third-ranked Gold Nuggets did not drop a set in a 9-0 victory against No. 2 William Carey, the NAIA women's national runner-up in 2013. The sixth-ranked Gold Rush defeated No. 15 William Carey 6-3.
The XU women (2-2) did not lose a game in 7-of-15 sets. Simone-Alyse Ewell and Sha'Nel Bruins both won 6-0, 6-0 in singles; Ewell clinched the dual by beating McKinzie Boss at No. 5.
Winning in singles and doubles for Xavier were Nour Abbes, Kourtney Howell, Brion Flowers, Brandi Nelson and Ewell. Abbes, a freshman, improved to 3-0 in singles after beating Anne Bauer 6-2, 6-0 at the top flight and 2-0 in doubles when she and Howell defeated Malin Collin and Bauer 8-2.
The Gold Nuggets won 11-of-12 against ranked opponents in 2013 en route to the national semifinals. It was the second straight year that they won on the road against a second-ranked William Carey team.
Freshman Jordan Harrell clinched the Gold Rush's dual at No. 6 singles with a 6-1, 6-3 victory against Lukas Moritzen. At No. 3 doubles, Harrell and another freshman, Tushar Mandlekar, fought off a match point in the 15th game and earned a 9-8 (7-5) victory against Moritzen and Leonardo Sechi.
Kyle Montrel and Nikita Soifer won in doubles and singles for the Rush. They teamed for a 9-7 No. 1 doubles victory against Jody Claassen and Philipp Mueller. At the top two singles flights, Montrel beat Ricky Keppeler 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 1-0 (10-5), and Soifer defeated Claassen 6-1, 6-1.
Montrel and Soifer are 3-0 in doubles this season.
Freshman Adam Albrecht defeated Sechi 6-3, 6-3 at No. 5.
William Carey's women are 1-2, and the men are 1-1.
"Good wins for both our teams," XU coach Alan Green said. "It's just the beginning of our NAIA mission. Our men pulled out a really tough win with a total team effort. Our women went out and played hard against a team that knocked us out of nationals last year. William Carey has a different women's team this year, but so do we."
Both XU teams will travel to Jackson, Miss., to play Belhaven at noon Saturday. Belhaven's men are ranked 13th in the NAIA.
Results: Men Women
By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information DirectorXULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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