ITA Rankings: Abbes Remains No. 1, Montrel Climbs to No. 9

NEW ORLEANS --  Xavier University of Louisiana's Nour Abbes still was No. 1 in women's singles in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's NAIA individual rankings announced Wednesday, and XU's Kyle Montrel climbed to No. 9 in men's singles.
     

The rankings are the second of the spring semester and the final one before the NAIA National Championships. Postseason rankings will be announced May 27.
     

NOUR ABBES (L) and KYLE MONTREL(R)

Abbes is 5-0 since the previous rankings with three victories against top-25 opponents. She is 28-2 overall this season, 15-1 in dual matches. Abbes won the NAIA singles title at the ITA / USTA National Small College Championships in October and was runner-up to Lynn's Valentine Confalonieri in the "Super Bowl."
     

Montrel is 6-2 since the previous rankings with victories against three nationally ranked players — one from NCAA Division II — and one regionally ranked opponent. This is Montrel's highest-ever singles ranking, and he joins Loic Didavi (2011-12 and 2012-13) and Miroslav Vukicevic (2007-08) as the only Gold Rush singles players to reach the top 10.
     

The remainder of Xavier's national rankings are:
     •  Caroline Vernet, 16th in women's singles.
     •  Nikita Soifer, 36th in men's singles and 13th in doubles with Montrel.
     •  Vernet and Simone-Alyse Ewell, 11th in women's doubles.
     •  Abbes and Carmen Nelson, 20th in women's doubles.
     •  Tushar Mandlekar and Manav Chakma, 22nd in men's doubles.
     

In the South Region women's rankings, Abbes is first and Vernet seventh in singles. Vernet and Ewell are sixth in doubles, and Abbes and Nelson are seventh. In the men's South rankings, Montrel is sixth, Soifer 13th, Jordan Harrell 18th and Mandlekar 19th in singles. Soifer and Montrel are sixth in doubles, and Mandlekar and Chakma are ninth.
     

Harrell is ranked in singles for the first time at Xavier.
     

Abbes is a sophomore from Tunis, Tunisia, and a graduate of Lycée Sportif d'El Menzah. Vernet is a home-schooled freshman from Lyon, France. Nelson is a senior from Jonesboro, Ga., and a graduate of Faith Academy. Ewell is a junior from Detroit and a graduate of The Roeper School.
     

Montrel is a junior from Atlanta and a graduate of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. Soifer is a senior from Beer Sheva, Israel, and a graduate of Hof Hasharon. Mandlekar is a sophomore from Bhilai, India, and a graduate of Deepak Nagar. Chakma is a junior from Agartala, India, and a graduate of Kendriya Vidyalaya Maligaon. Harrell is a sophomore from Lithonia, Ga., and a graduate of Martin Luther King High School.
     

Next for the Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets will be West Florida at noon April 26 in Pensacola, Fla. Coach Alan Green said Thursday that the duals were pushed back one day because of UWF's final exam schedule.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
https://twitter.com/xulagold
https://www.facebook.com/