NEW ORLEANS — Farah Baklouti, Mariia Borodii and Charlene Goreau rallied Xavier University of Louisiana in a 4-3 women's tennis victory Sunday against Texas State.It was the first dual match of 2019 for the Gold Nuggets, ranked third in the NAIA and a national semifinalist last season. The Bobcats, a member of NCAA Division I and the Sun Belt Conference, are 2-1.
XULA trailed 3-1 after losing on the third, fifth and sixth singles courts. But the Gold Nuggets stormed back when Baklouti defeated Josefina Cassara 6-1, 6-4, Borodii beat Ana Perez 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, then Goreau clinched with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 decision against Rishona Israel-Lewis.
Borodii tied the dual with her victory, and Goreau ended it less than 15 seconds later.
"It was a tough match for me," said Goreau, a three-time NAIA All-American who trailed 6-5 in the first set and 4-3 in the second. "All I could think about was fighting and never giving up."
Borodii, the ITA/NAIA National Rookie of the Year last season, improved to 16-0 all-time in dual-match singles competition.
"My opponent was really, really tough," Borodii said, "and it had been such a long time since I competed (Oct. 14). It felt like I forgot how to compete. I just had to stay focused. I will be stronger, harder and better next time."
XULA won the doubles point. Yi Chen Pao and Angela Charles-Alfred defeated Julia Navajo-Melendez and Andrea Fuchs 6-2, then Borodii and Baklouti won 6-4 against Perez and Joy Chia Ming Ming.
For XULA's women it was the:
• 37th victory against an NCAA Division I opponent during Alan Green's 16 seasons as head coach.
• Third straight victory against a DI dating to last season — the Gold Nuggets' longest win streak against DIs since 2008.
• First victory in an opener against a DI since 2007.
• First victory against a non-HBCU DI member since 2014 and the second since 2004.
• The first of six dual matches this season against DIs.
BOX SCORE
"This match was very tough, especially for an opener," Green said. "Our women played some inspired tennis, which was great to see. I'm proud of the way we fought throughout this match. It was a total team effort."
Results
Next for XULA's women and men will be a trip to Mobile, Ala., to play DI South Alabama at noon Saturday. It will be the first dual match of the season for the XULA men.
| 2019 XULA Tennis Schedule | ||||
| Team(s) | Date(s) | Opponent | Site | Time(s) |
| Women | Jan. 27 (Sun.) | TEXAS STATE (won 4-3) | XULA TENNIS CENTER | 10 a.m. |
| Both | Feb. 2 (Sat.) | at South Alabama | Mobile, Ala. | Noon |
| Women | Feb. 9 (Sat.) | at New Orleans | New Orleans, La. | 4 p.m. |
| Both | Feb. 10 (Sun.) | LOYOLA (N.O.) | XULA TENNIS CENTER | Noon |
| Women | Feb. 20 (Wed.) | Grambling | Baton Rouge, La. | 3 p.m. |
| Men | Feb. 22 (Fri.) | at New Orleans | New Orleans, La. | 4 p.m. |
| Both | Feb. 23 (Sat.) | John Brown | Alexandria, La. | Noon |
| Both | Feb. 23 (Sat.) | Texas Wesleyan | Alexandria, La. | 4 p.m. |
| Women | Feb. 24 (Sun.) | at LSU-Alexandria | Alexandria, La. | 10 a.m. |
| Men | Feb. 24 (Sun.) | Louisiana College | Alexandria, La. | 10 a.m. |
| Men | Feb. 27 (Wed.) | NICHOLLS | XULA TENNIS CENTER | 3 p.m. |
| Both | March 1 (Fri.) | at William Carey | Hattiesburg, Miss. | 2 p.m. |
| Men | March 8 (Fri.) | TEXAS A&M-TEXARKANA | XULA TENNIS CENTER | 11 a.m. |
| Both | March 9 (Sat.) | at Tougaloo | Jackson, Miss. | 9 a.m. |
| Both | March 9 (Sat.) | Rust | Jackson, Miss. | 1 p.m. |
| Both | March 9 (Sat.) | at Jackson State | Jackson, Miss. | 4 p.m. |
| Men | March 13 (Wed.) | at Louisiana-Lafayette (DH) | Lafayette, La. | 5 p.m./7:30 p.m. |
| Both | March 15 (Fri.) | at Northwestern Ohio | Lima, Ohio | TBA |
| Both | March 16 (Sat.) | Indiana Wesleyan | TBA | TBA |
| Both | March 18 (Mon.) | SCAD ATLANTA | XULA TENNIS CENTER | 3 p.m. |
| Both | March 22 (Fri.) | WILLIAM WOODS | XULA TENNIS CENTER | 3 p.m. |
| Women | March 23 (Sat.) | SOUTHERN MISS | XULA TENNIS CENTER | 2 p.m. |
| Both | March 28 (Thu.) | LEWIS-CLARK STATE | XULA TENNIS CENTER | 3 p.m. |
| Both | March 29 (Fri.) | Reinhardt | Pensacola, Fla. | TBA |
| Both | March 30 (Sat.) | Lindsey Wilson | Pensacola, Fla. | TBA |
| Women | March 31 (Sun.) | LSU-Alexandria | Pensacola, Fla. | TBA |
| Men | March 31 (Sun.) | Texas A&M-Texarkana | Pensacola, Fla. | TBA |
| Both | April 6 (Sat.) | WILLIAM CAREY | XULA TENNIS CENTER | Noon |
| Women | April 7 (Sun.) | LSU-ALEXANDRIA | XULA TENNIS CENTER | Noon |
| Men | April 18 (Thu.) | at Mobile | Mobile, Ala. | Noon |
| Both | April 19 (Fri.) | Keiser | Pensacola, Fla. | TBA |
| Both | April 20 (Sat.) | at West Florida | Pensacola, Fla. | 1 p.m. |
| Both | May 14 (Tue.)- May 18 (Sat.) | NAIA National Championships | Mobile, Ala. | TBA |
| (DH) doubleheader Home matches (in bold and CAPITAL LETTERS) are played at XULA Tennis Center (capacity 200), Xavier University campus, New Orleans TBA — to be announced All times are Central, except where noted Schedule is subject to change Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications Department of Athletics & Recreation XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA XULAgold.com twitter.com/xulagold www.facebook.com/xulagold | ||||
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