Wednesday, March 28, 2018

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

Xavier University of Louisiana men's tennisORLANDO, 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)
RANKPREVIOUSSCHOOL RECORDPOINTS
11Georgia Gwinnett [14]21-0374
22Xavier (La.)7-7362
33Keiser (Fla.)11-4350
46Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)4-0334
55Northwestern Ohio4-3327
67William Woods (Mo.)6-5306
78Mobile (Ala.)15-1298
816Cumberland (Tenn.)11-1288
99Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)7-3283
1010Arizona Christian13-6256
114Campbellsville (Ky.)8-2251
1211Middle Georgia State9-3249
1312William Carey (Miss.)6-2232
1413San Diego Christian (Calif.)6-5229
1515Reinhardt (Ga.)8-2201
1614Westmont (Calif.)5-5200
1717Asbury (Ky.)7-1174
1817Coastal Georgia8-6162
1922Union (Ky.)7-3158
2020Lawrence Tech (Mich.)13-3143
2119Tennessee Wesleyan6-3131
2221McPherson (Kan.)4-3120
2323Indiana Wesleyan23-4110
2424St. Thomas (Fla.)5-590
2525Point (Ga.)12-485
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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