MOBILE, Alabama -- On a hellaciously humid hump day during the second round of the NAIA Women's Tennis National Championship, Xavier University of Louisiana sophomore Nour Abbes was the hottest of all.
Abbes rallied from a 4-1 first set deficit, won the final 11 games and defeated Oklahoma Baptist's Anastasia Baranova 6-4, 6-0 Wednesday in a matchup of the NAIA's top two singles players. Abbes scored the fourth point for the Gold Nuggets in their 5-1 dual-match victory.
Xavier (16-9), seeded and ranked fifth, reached the quarterfinals for the third consecutive year. The Gold Nuggets will play fourth-seeded SCAD Savannah at 1 p.m. Thursday at Copeland-Cox Mobile Tennis Center.
Abbes, Brion Flowers and Brandi Nelson won in doubles and singles for Xavier. The Gold Nuggets won 2-of-3 doubles matches, won three singles matches and led in all three uncompleted singles matches.
Abbes, ranked first in NAIA singles, said she wasn't concerned about her early deficit.
"I just needed to get back on my game," Abbes said. "It had been a while since I played someone who hit the ball that hard. Once I got used to her rhythm, it was good."
Abbes beat Baranova for the second time this season. The other was 6-1, 6-4 Oct. 11 in the NAIA final of the USTA / ITA National Small College Championships at Sumter, S.C.
Abbes and Carmen Nelson, Brandi's older sister, scored the first point of the dual when they defeated Olivia Charvat and Ashley Abbe 8-3 at the second doubles flight. Flowers and Brandi Nelson made it 2-0 when they beat Kathryn Sild and Alex Morales 8-5 at No. 3.
Brandi Nelson scored the Nuggets' first singles point, a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Sild in which Nelson rallied from a 3-0 second-set deficit. After Abbes closed out Baranova, Flowers clinched with her most decisive victory since early March, 6-1, 6-0 against Morales.
Temperatures at mid-afternoon were in the upper 80s, and the heat index was in the low 90s. But the Nuggets didn't wilt.
"It's good that we practice in New Orleans, because the weather is about the same here," Abbes said. "We came in ready for this. It was more mental than physical."
Oklahoma Baptist, ranked and seeded 12th, finished 13-9. OBU's point came from Baranova and Katheryn Shkot, the NAIA's top-ranked doubles team. They beat Caroline Vernet and Simone-Alyse Ewell 8-1.
The Lady Bison will compete in NCAA Division II next season.
The Gold Nuggets will attempt to reach the national semifinals for the third consecutive year. Their next opponent, SCAD Savannah, advanced by beating 13th-seeded Concordia (Calif.) 5-0.
Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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