No. 3 Keiser defeats No. 2 Gold Rush 6-3

ORLANDO, Florida — It had been nearly three years since Xavier University of Louisiana men's tennis lost to a ranked NAIA opponent other than Georgia Gwinnett. But it happened Tuesday when third-ranked Keiser beat the No. 2 Gold Rush 6-3 at the USTA National Campus courts.
     
The Seahawks (12-4) trailed 2-1 after doubles, then won 5-of-6 singles matches. Nicolas Guerschanik clinched with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory against Antoine Richard on the second court.
     
XULA (8-8) got its points from Samir Chikhaoui, a 6-3, 6-3 winner against Adrian Frutos at No. 3 singles, and from its top two doubles teams, Shaikh Abdullah and Richard at No. 1 and Pierre An
drieu and Chris Anders at No. 2.
     
Abdullah and Richard defeated Guerschanik and Marc Algeri 8-6, and Andrieu and Anders beat Vicente Lagos and Arthur Bonnaud — the ITA's 11th-ranked tandem — 9-8 (7-5).
     
The Gold Rush had not lost to a ranked NAIA opponent not named Georgia Gwinnett since May 14, 2015, when Vanguard won 5-4 in the quarterfinals of the national tournament at Mobile, Ala. Between then and Tuesday XULA rattled off 16 straight wins against that group, including decisions against sixth-ranked Keiser in the 2016 quarterfinals and third-ranked Keiser in the 2017 semifinals.

Results    

XULA won 5-4 Monday at Embry-Riddle, the first-ever Gold Rush victory against a top-10 team from NCAA Division II. Keiser lost 6-3 at Embry-Riddle March 14.
     
Earlier Tuesday the NAIA announced its fifth coaches poll of 2018. XULA was No. 2, and Keiser was No. 3. The next team rankings will be revealed April 10.
    
Next for the Gold Rush will be a 9 a.m. dual match April 7 — one week from Saturday — against NCAA Division I member Troy at XULA Tennis Center.
 

NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records through March 25)

RANK	PREVIOUS	SCHOOL	RECORD	POINTS
1	1	Georgia Gwinnett [14]	21-0	374
2	2	Xavier (La.)	7-7	362
3	3	Keiser (Fla.)	11-4	350
4	6	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	4-0	334
5	5	Northwestern Ohio	4-3	327
6	7	William Woods (Mo.)	6-5	306
7	8	Mobile (Ala.)	15-1	298
8	16	Cumberland (Tenn.)	11-1	288
9	9	Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)	7-3	283
10	10	Arizona Christian	13-6	256
11	4	Campbellsville (Ky.)	8-2	251
12	11	Middle Georgia State	9-3	249
13	12	William Carey (Miss.)	6-2	232
14	13	San Diego Christian (Calif.)	6-5	229
15	15	Reinhardt (Ga.)	8-2	201
16	14	Westmont (Calif.)	5-5	200
17	17	Asbury (Ky.)	7-1	174
18	17	Coastal Georgia	8-6	162
19	22	Union (Ky.)	7-3	158
20	20	Lawrence Tech (Mich.)	13-3	143
21	19	Tennessee Wesleyan	6-3	131
22	21	McPherson (Kan.)	4-3	120
23	23	Indiana Wesleyan	23-4	110
24	24	St. Thomas (Fla.)	5-5	90
25	25	Point (Ga.)	12-4	85

Others Receiving Votes: Texas A&M-Texarkana 62; Aquinas (Mich.) 36; Cumberlands (Ky.) 32; Bethany (Kan.) 32; Loyola (La.) 25; Judson (Ill.) 18; Missouri Valley 12; Marian (Ind.) 11; Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) 5; Hastings (Neb.) 4; Hope International (Calif.) 3; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 3

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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