Competitive Cheer: XULA moved up a notch Saturday to finish fifth out of 11 teams at NAIA nationals in Davenport, Iowa. XULA's final score was 85.86, which trailed champion Oklahoma City (91.53), runner-up and host Saint Ambrose (91.11), third-place Indiana Wesleyan (90.56) and fourth-place Missouri Valley (90.50). Although XULA did not earn the championship trophy, the Gold finished No. 1 on the NAIA season list for average score per meet: 89.15, less than a point ahead of runner-up Saint Ambrose (88.89) and third-place Oklahoma City (88.48). This was XULA's second season in this sport.
Women's Basketball: 10th-ranked Southeastern (Fla.) outscored XULA 14-2 in the first quarter en route to a 70-47 victory in the second round of NAIA nationals at Lakeland, Fla. A 16-3 XULA run cut the Fire's lead to 39-32 in the 27th minute, but XULA got no closer thereafter. Nina German had 15 points, six rebounds and five assists for XULA (13-7), and teammate Abryhia Irons had 12 points and nine rebounds. Southeastern, 26-2 with a 25-game win streak, advanced to the final 16 next week at Sioux City, Iowa.
Baseball: XULA completed a three-game home sweep of Tougaloo with 7-3 and 10-0 victories at Wesley Barrow Stadium. Austin Anderson's two-run single put XULA ahead to stay during a five-run sixth inning in the opener. In the second game freshman pitchers Juwan Fitch, Colby Henderson and Ryan Kinney combined on XULA's first shutout this season. Fitch (3-0) worked the first five innings and did not allow a hit the first 4 1/3 innings. Danny Coleman and Jose Fulgencio homered for XULA; Coleman did it for the second consecutive day. XULA, in its first season of competition since 1960, is 8-3. Tougaloo is 2-8.
Volleyball: XULA and city rival Dillard are headed for a showdown for the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season championship in two weeks. XULA improved to 8-0 in the GCAC -- Dillard has the same record -- after defeating Rust 25-11, 25-9, 25-4 and Philander Smith 25-22, 25-16, 25-10 at Holly Springs, Miss. Those victories extended XULA's win streak in GCAC regular-season matches to 49. XULA and Dillard will play their two conference matches with each other March 26-27 at Tougaloo, Miss. XULA, 12-4 overall, has won the last nine GCAC regular-season and tournament championships.
Women's Tennis: In a matchup of two of the best NAIA programs, No. 2 Keiser defeated No. 3 XULA 4-0 at Pensacola, Fla. XULA's only victory was at No. 1 doubles, where Angela Charles-Alfred and Lailaa Bashir -- No. 1 in the ITA NAIA preseason rankings -- won 7-6 (7-3) against Maissane Aik and Alisha Hussain. But Keiser won the doubles point and three singles matches. XULA is 6-3, and Keiser is 9-1 with an eight-dual win streak. Next for XULA: 1 p.m. Sunday at West Florida, ranked sixth in NCAA Division II.
Men's Tennis: In a matchup of two NAIA top-10 programs, No. 2 Keiser defeated No. 10 XULA 6-0 at Pensacola, Fla. Keiser won all eight of the matches that were completed. At the top singles flight, Luke Simkiss -- No. 1 in the ITA NAIA preseason rankings -- defeated No. 13 Santiago Perez 6-3, 6-3. XULA is 3-5 with three of the losses to NAIA top-six teams; Keiser is 10-1 and has won 10 straight. Next for XULA: 1 p.m. Sunday at West Florida, ranked fifth in NCAA Division II.
Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications
Department of Athletics & Recreation
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAgold.com
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold
Department of Athletics & Recreation
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAgold.com
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold
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