Thursday, March 24, 2016

Rush, Nuggets knock off ranked Keiser teams on road

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida  -- Xavier University of Louisiana won Wednesday against Keiser in matchups of ranked NAIA tennis programs. The Gold Rush, ranked third, beat sixth-ranked Keiser 7-2, and the 16th-ranked Gold Nuggets defeated No. 11 Keiser 5-4.

The XU women (7-7) got a pair of comeback victories from Sha'Nel Bruins. Trailing 7-4, 40-love in doubles, she and Dasia Harris rallied for a 9-8 (7-3) victory against Samantha Guy and Livia Toth. Bruins clinched the dual with a 3-6, 6-0, 6-0 victory against Lola Garcia.

"I couldn't get down on myself," Bruins said. "I just had to find the willpower and try to win. I didn't pay attention to the score. I just kept playing."

The Gold Nuggets won a trio of 3-set singles matches. Charlene Goreau beat Laura Ortega 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, and Brandi Nelson defeated Guy 6-2, 3-6, 6-0. In doubles, Nelson and Brion Flowers trailed 4-0 against Teodora Stanciu and Garcia but rallied to win 8-5.
Goreau, a freshman, has won her last nine singles decisions. Bruins won her last four singles decisions and eight of her last nine.
For the Gold Rush (9-3), Karan Salwan, Thomas Setodji and Kyle Montrel won in doubles and singles. Salwan clinched at the top singles flight with a 6-3, 6-1 decision against Nicolas Guerschanik. Setodji, a freshman, improved to 7-0 in singles with a 6-3, 6-0 victory against Martin Martins.
Salwan has a nine-match win streaks in singles and doubles, and Montrel’s doubles win streak is eight. Teammate Adam Albrecht improved his singles win streak to eight with a 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 1-0 (11-9) decision against Ignacio Osse.   
"It was a huge day for our teams, especially for the Nuggets," XU coach Alan Green said. "The competition and atmosphere were similar to what we'll see at the national tournament in May."

The Gold Rush snapped the 11-dual win streak of the Seahawks (11-2). The XU men have won nine of their last 10 duals, and it was their third victory during that time against a top-10 opponent.

The Gold Nuggets snapped the 4-dual win streak of Keiser's women (6-6) and won for the first time in six tries this season against a top-25 opponent.

Both XU teams will conclude their spring-break trip with exhibition duals Thursday against ASA Miami, a two-year school. The men's dual will start at 9 a.m. EDT, and the women's dual will follow.

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