Nuggets beat Owls again, await rematch with Keiser

MOBILE, Ala. — Xavier University of Louisiana women's tennis adroitly handled one rematch Thursday, but it will need a similar performance Friday to reach its first-ever NAIA National Championship final.
     
The Gold Nuggets, ranked and seeded third, won 5-0 in the quarterfinals against William Woods, ranked and seeded sixth. The score was the same as their March 22 meeting at XULA, and Charlene Goreau clinched both times with straight-set singles victories.
     
XULA (19-5) will play in the semifinals at 1 p.m. Friday against Keiser (20-4), the last team to beat the Nuggets this season — 7-2 on April 19 in Pensacola, Fla. — and the only ranked opponent out of 14 to beat XULA in 2019.
     
"It's nationals now, so it's going to be tight," said Goreau. "I think we can do something against (Keiser)."
     
The Gold Nuggets produced back-to-back 5-0 victories at nationals for the first time ever, and sophomore Mariia Borodii won in singles at nationals for the first time after four non-completed matches.
     
Doubles produced two routs — Goreau and Angela Charles-Alfred won 8-1 for the second straight day, then Borodii and Farah Baklouti won by the same score — and a two-hour thriller in which Lacee Ancarand Angelica De Vincenzis won 9-8 (7-4) after trailing 3-1 and leading 6-4.  


Borodii made it 4-0 with her 6-1, 6-1 victory against Julia Perez Wienese, and Goreau clinched by beating Zlata Shuraeva 6-0, 6-4. The Gold Nuggets won first sets in each of the four unfinished matches.
     
Goreau and Charles-Alfred are 5-0 in two years as a doubles team at nationals. Borodii and Baklouti are 21-0 as a doubles team this season, and each has a 26-1 doubles record in 2018-19.
     
Keiser is ranked and seeded second and was the national runner-up a year ago.

Quarterfinals — Thursday
Georgia Gwinnett 5, Brenau 1
William Carey 5, SCAD Savannah 3
Keiser 5, Middle Georgia 1
XULA 5, William Woods 0

Semifinals — 1 p.m. Friday
No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett (18-1) vs. No. 4 William Carey (15-2)
No. 2 Keiser (20-4) vs. No. 3 XULA (19-5)

BOX SCORE

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications
Department of Athletics & Recreation
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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