XU makes a splash in Campbell's-ITA preseason rankings

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Xavier University of Louisiana has three singles players and three doubles teams in the Campbell's-Intercollegiate Tennis Association NAIA preseason rankings announced Wednesday.

Most notably:

• Loic Didavi is seventh in men's singles — Xavier's highest ranking since Miroslav Vukicevic was fifth in March 2008.

• Didavi, Steffen Giles-Osborn (career-high 13th) and Amir Rahbar (career-high 46th) give the Gold Rush three nationally ranked singles players for the first time since April 2009.

• The Gold Rush have two nationally ranked doubles teams for the first time. Didavi and Zach Taylor are third — Xavier's highest NAIA ranking ever — and Giles-Osborn and Sean Richardson are 21st.

Nicole DeLoach and Kourtney Howell are 22nd in women's doubles. All the aforementioned XU men and women are ranked in the South, with Didavi second in singles and second in doubles with Taylor. It's the fourth consecutive season that Giles-Osborn has been nationally ranked at least once in singles.

Updated individual rankings will be announced March 7, April 11 and May 23. The NAIA will announce its preseason top-25 team rankings Jan. 31 and first regular-season rankings Feb. 21.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

XU's Didavi, Taylor grab third place in NAIA doubles

MOBILE, Alabama -- Xavier University of Louisiana's second-seeded Loic Didavi and Zach Taylor defeated Oklahoma Christian's fourth-seeded Bruno Tiberti and Martin Poboril 6-7 (4), 7-5, 1-0 (10-7) Friday in the NAIA men's doubles third-place match of the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships.

 Loic Didavi 

Zach Taylor

Didavi, unseeded in singles, upset fourth-seeded Vladislav Khudziy of Huntington (Ind.) 6-4, 6-3 in the consolation semifinals.

Didavi and Taylor lost 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals to Fresno Pacific's third-seeded Cledson Carvalho and Nathan Martinet.

XU's doubles tandem finished the fall semester 7-2. Taylor is 22-10 at Xavier in two seasons of doubles.

"That third-place match started right after both teams lost in the semifinals," Xavier coach Alan Green said. "Both teams were given a 40-minute break, but they decided to stay on court and play. Oklahoma Christian was coming off a tough loss in a super-tiebreaker.

"At first it looked like all four guys did not want to be on the court, but they eventually warmed up to it. It was a back-and-forth match. Loic and Zach did a great job taking control in the second set, then they got a good lead early in the super-tiebreaker and held on."

Didavi, 9-1 in singles this season, broke Khudziy's serve to take a 4-2 lead in the second set.

"Loic's first set of singles was ugly," Green said. "He almost lost serve a couple of times but pulled it out.

"Loic's opponent was really good but deceptive. It was a mental challenge for Loic because his opponent looked like he was coasting at times, and at other times he'd produce great shots. It was hard for Loic to get into a rhythm, but he did what he had to do to win."

Didavi will play Graceland's Laurentsi Arakhamiya at 8:30 a.m. Saturday for fifth place.

Graceland's first-year coach is Xavier graduate Monroe Walker, who played for the Gold Rush from 2001-05.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
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XU's Didavi, Taylor take aim at national event for small colleges

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana will take another significant step in its modern era of men's tennis when Loic Didavi and Zach Taylor compete Thursday in the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships at Copeland-Cox Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala.

It's the first time that Xavier has competed in this event. Didavi will play Embry-Riddle's top-seeded Chris Freeman in the opening round of NAIA men's singles. Didavi and Taylor are seeded second in NAIA men's doubles and will play their first match against Olivet Nazarene's Sebastian Esquetini and Diego Gonsalvez.

Zach Taylor

Loic Didavi

Also competing are men's and women's regional singles and doubles winners and at-large selections from NCAA Division II and III and the junior colleges. Survivors of all the brackets will meet this weekend to determine overall champions.

"It's like a Super Bowl of small-college tennis," Xavier coach Alan Green said.

All singles players and doubles teams will play a minimum of three matches, and Green says he wouldn't be surprised if Didavi and Taylor spent all their time in the winners bracket.

"Loic has a great shot to win in singles because he's left-handed and because it's humid down here," Green said. "When left-handers hit, the ball spins in the opposite direction compared to a right-hander's hit. Right-handers have to really be careful when playing a left-hander. In doubles Loic and Zach's chemistry is not 100 percent yet, but what's making it work is that they're both talented. Both have pretty good hands around the net. The more familiar they become with each other, the more lethal they'll be."

Didavi, a junior from Cotonou, Benin, and a transfer from Auburn Montgomery, is 8-0 in singles and 5-1 in doubles through two fall tournaments. Both he and Taylor, a senior from Monroe, La., were second-team NAIA All-Americans this past season, and both had top-10 NAIA doubles rankings.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

XU's Didavi, Taylor qualify for small college championships

ATLANTA, Georgia -- Xavier University of Louisiana's Loic Didavi defeated teammate Steffen Giles-Osborn 6-2, 6-4 in the men's singles final, then teamed with Zach Taylor for a 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 doubles upset of William Carey's top-seeded Jody Claasen and Thomas Rizk on Sunday in the USTA/ITA NAIA South Regional tennis championships.

The victories qualified Didavi and Taylor for the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships at Mobile, Ala., on Oct. 13-16. It will be the first time Xavier will be represented at that event.

"It feels weird being on this end of it," ninth-year Xavier coach Alan Green said. "Winning a fall regional . . . it's great."

A year ago the Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets had no finalists in this event, to which Xavier played host. But the arrival of Didavi, an XU junior and a two-time second-team NAIA All-American at Auburn Montgomery, and other key recruits is making Green, an eternal optimist, even more excited.

"I have a good feeling about our teams," Green said.

Didavi, winner of the singles A-flight at the HBCU National Championships one week earlier, has yet to lose a set in eight singles matches at Xavier. He's 5-1 in doubles with Taylor, an NAIA All-American in doubles last season with Hassan Abbas, now an XU student assistant coach.

"The singles final was a treat to just watch as a fan because both our guys were involved," Green said. "It was different in doubles. We got off to a good start, then William Carey picked up their game and handled us in the second. We regrouped in the third set and closed out the match."

Didavi and Taylor, the A-doubles runner-up at the HBCU tourney, were seeded second this weekend. Didavi made amends for a loss as a top seed in the NAIA fall regional doubles final a year ago.
Didavi was the No. 2 singles seed, and Giles-Osborn was unseeded. Giles-Osborn upset William Carey's eighth-seeded Ricky Keppeler in three sets in Saturday's semifinals.

The Mobile event will conclude Xavier's fall competition. The Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets will play dual matches during the spring semester, and Green will announce that schedule by the end of December.

"We'll be playing a lot of ranked teams in the spring," Green said. "We'll be going back to AUM's tournament and back to California for several matches. We're looking forward to playing the best competition available and bringing out the best in our players."

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Xavier advances 4 to singles semifinals in NAIA regional

ATLANTA, Georgia -- Xavier University of Louisiana's tennis teams won 14 of 23 main-draw matches Friday at the USTA/ITA NAIA South Regional.

Reaching the quarterfinals were Loic Didavi, Amir Rahbar and Steffen Giles-Osborn in men's singles and Kourtney Howell in women's singles. Advancing to semifinals were the men's doubles teams of Didavi and Zach Taylor and Giles-Osborn and Sean Richardson. Howell and Nicole DeLoach reached the women's doubles semifinals.

Didavi, seeded second, improved to 5-0 in singles for the fall semester with a 6-1, 6-0 victory against Shorter's Arturo Lifshitz.

Howell beat Shorter's Katie Wilmer 6-0, 6-0, then upset SCAD Atlanta's seventh-seeded Daniela Vukadinovic 2-6, 6-1, 2-0, retired.

Rahbar defeated Shorter's Colt Kelley 6-1, 6-0 and William Carey's fourth-seeded Thomas Rizk 5-7, 7-6, 7-5. Giles-Osborn beat Auburn Montgomery's Josh Reason 6-4, 7-5 and will play Rahbar in the quarterfinals Saturday.

Howell and DeLoach upset Brenau's fourth-seeded Hannah Thompson and Theresa Neumeyr 8-3.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Xavier University newcomer Didavi wins HBCU men's singles title

 Loic Didavi

JONESBORO, Ga. -- Loic Didavi, a junior playing his first tennis tournament for Xavier University of Louisiana, defeated Florida A&M's Levan Clark 6-4, 6-4 Saturday to win the men's singles A-flight of the HBCU National Championships.

Didavi, a transfer from Auburn Montgomery, a two-time NAIA second-team All-American and the No. 3 seed in this event, survived some second-set drama to beat Clark, who was seeded second.
"Clark broke Loic's serve to start the second set, but Loic broke right back to gain control of match," Xavier coach Alan Green said. "Loic got to triple match point at 5-2. He had a little lapse and lost that game and the next one. But he regrouped and closed out the match on his serve."

Didavi defeated the top two seeds. On Friday he beat FAMU's Salif Kante 7-5, 7-5 in the semifinals.

"All these years we've been coming here and we never had anyone win the highest flight -- until today," said Green, in his ninth season as Xavier's coach and a former standout player for XU.

Xavier had berths in five finals, but Didavi was the only winner. Sean Richardson lost 6-3, 6-4 to FAMU's Temuera Asafu-Adjaye in men's C-singles. Didavi and Zach Taylor, seeded second in men's A-doubles, lost 8-2 to FAMU's top-seeded Kante and Takura Happy. Richardson and Steffen Giles-Osborn, the No. 2 seed in men's B-doubles, lost 9-7 to FAMU's top-seeded Clark and Chidi Gabriel. And in women's A-doubles, second-seeded Nicole DeLoach and Kourtney Howell lost 8-5 to Southern's top-seeded Lois Alexis and Carlista Mohammed.

Clark and Gabriel beat XU in the semifinals too. They won 8-0 against Amir Rahbar and Viktor Svoboda.

"Everybody played well, including the women. I was pleasantly surprised by the way the Nuggets performed," Green said. "We have some great things to look forward to as long as we continue to grow and put in the work."

Xavier, the only NAIA member in the event, won 29 of 46 matches. The Gold Rush were 20-8, and the Gold Nuggets were 9-9. Both teams will be back in Georgia next Friday and Saturday for the USTA/ITA NAIA South Regional in Atlanta.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Xavier's Didavi, Richardson reach singles finals at HBCU event

JONESBORO, Ga. — Xavier University of Louisiana's Loic Didavi and Sean Richardson won men's singles semifinal matches Friday in the HBCU National Tennis Championships.

Didavi, the No. 3 seed in the A-flight, defeated Florida A&M's top-seeded Salif Kante 7-5, 7-5 and will play FAMU's second-seeded Levan Clark for the championship. Clark defeated Xavier's Zach Taylor 6-2, 6-3 in the other semifinal.

Richardson, unseeded in the C-flight, beat Hampton's Kenneth Greene 6-1, 6-2 in a match suspended Thursday, then defeated North Carolina Central's Fabrice George 6-2, 6-3. Richardson will play FAMU's top-seeded Temuera Asafu-Adjaye for the title.

Asafu-Adjaye beat Xavier's Viktor Svoboda 6-1, 6-4 in the other semifinal. Svoboda got there with a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Alcorn State's Maxim Tkanchenko in a match suspended Thursday.

Didavi and Taylor, seeded second in men's A-doubles, reached the semifinals with an 8-1 victory against Hampton's Advait Kitane and Lakshmana Satchithananthan. They'll play Alcorn's fourth-seeded Enresti Santillian and Winfried Weinbeer.

Richardson and Steffen Giles-Osborn, seeded second in men's B-doubles, beat James Pressley and Nate Sinckler of Morehouse 8-1 to reach the semifinals, where they'll face FAMU's fourth-seeded Asafu-Adjaye and Fabrice Myrtil.

XU's Kourtney Howell, seeded fourth in women's A-singles, defeated FAMU's Britney Dean 6-1, 6-3 and will play Southern's second-seeded Carlista Mohammed in the semifinals. XU women eliminated in the quarterfinals were Amanda Materre and Amber Brown in the B-flight and Jordyn Goody in C.

Brown, a No. 1 seed, lost 7-5, 6-2 to Prairie View A&M's Christine Gwodog in the round of 16.

Howell and Nicole DeLoach, seeded second in women's A-doubles, beat Prairie View's Alejandra Barrera and Brittany Harrell 8-6 to reach the semifinals. Goody and Brown upset FAMU's second-seeded Kathline Durden and Stephanie Miller 8-6 but lost to Bethune-Cookman's Shereen Peterson-Paul and Stacey Speller 8-4 in the B-doubles quarterfinals.

XU's Amir Rahbar lost 6-3, 6-1 in the semifinals of men's B-singles to FAMU's second-seeded Takura Happy.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: GCAC

Xavier signs three, opens fall season at HBCU Championships

NEW ORLEANS -- A two-time NAIA All-American is one of three men's tennis players to sign scholarships with Xavier University of Louisiana.

Joining the Gold Rush for the 2011-12 season are junior Loic Didavi of Cotonou, Benin, freshman Nikita Soifer of Beer Sheva, Israel, and sophomore Viktor Svoboda of Kamenice, Czech Republic. Didavi transferred from Auburn Montgomery, and Svoboda transferred from Lewis-Clark State.

The Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets will begin their season Thursday in the HBCU National Championships at Clayton County Tennis Center in Jonesboro, Ga. Xavier will return to Georgia next week for its other fall event, the USTA/ITA NAIA South Regional on Sept. 30-Oct. 1 in Atlanta.

Didavi was second-team NAIA All-America twice at AUM. He was an ITA NAIA All-American in doubles this past season, when he was 29th in singles and fourth in doubles with Boris Obama in the final rankings. Didavi helped AUM win the NAIA championship in 2010.

Soifer, who was born in Russia but moved to Israel when he was six years old, was ranked first in singles among Israelis in the 14 and 18 age groups. His highest overall singles ranking in Israel was 12th, and he spent 2½ years in Israel's army before signing with Xavier. Nicholls State, UNC Asheville and James Madison, all of NCAA Division I, also recruited Soifer.

Svoboda helped Lewis-Clark State qualify for the NAIA National Championship in May and won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5 singles in the Warriors' first-round loss to Lindsey Wilson. Svoboda recorded two singles victories and two doubles victories against NCAA Division I opponents.

The Gold Rush ranked a program-record-tying eighth in the final coaches poll this past season. Xavier will announce its schedule of spring-semester dual matches near the end of 2011.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Rush get first-round bye at NAIA National Championship

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana received a first-round bye when pairings were announced Tuesday for the NAIA Men's Tennis National Championship.

The Gold Rush (13-9) are seeded eighth — the same position as in the final coaches poll announced Monday — and will play at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, May 18 against the winner of a first-round match between ninth-seeded Vanguard (7-13) and 24th-seeded Mobile (6-7).

All matches will be played at Copeland-Cox Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala. The Vanguard-Mobile dual will be one of eight played May 17, and the tournament will conclude May 21. Twenty-four teams qualified, and eight received byes.

Xavier qualified automatically for nationals by winning the Unaffiliated Group 2 Tournament April 29-30 at Chattanooga, Tenn. Vanguard received an at-large bid, and Mobile qualified as host institution.

Xavier earned its first victory against a top-10 NAIA opponent with its 6-3 decision at Vanguard on March 4. The Lions, a quarterfinalist five of the last six seasons and a semifinalist in 2000 and 2004, beat the Gold Rush 6-3 in 2010 and 5-4 in 2008 in regular-season duals.

Xavier did not play Mobile this year, but the Gold Rush were 8-0 against the Mobile the previous three seasons, including victories in the finals of Gulf Coast Athletic Conference tournaments in 2008 and 2009. Mobile competed in the Southern States Athletic Conference this year.

This is the third consecutive year that the XU men qualified for the national tournament. In 2009 the Gold Rush defeated Oklahoma Christian 5-4 in the first round, then lost to eventual runner-up Auburn Montgomery 5-0. Last year the Gold Rush beat Tennessee Wesleyan 5-3 in the first round, then lost 5-1 to eventual runner-up Fresno Pacific.

Fresno Pacific, a 5-2 loser to Auburn Montgomery in the 2010 final, is the No. 1 seed and could play Xavier in the quarterfinals May 19.

Bracket

NAIA National Championship (seedings in parentheses) First Round — 9 a.m. on Tuesday, May 17 Aquinas (16) vs. St. Thomas (Fla.) (17) Vanguard (9) vs. Mobile (24) Graceland (12) vs. Huntington (Ind.) (21) Concordia (Calif.) (13) vs. Bethany (Kan.) (20) Lindsey Wilson (14) vs. Lewis-Clark State (19) Shorter (11) vs. Hastings (22) Union (Ky.) (10) vs. Brescia (23) William Carey (15) vs. Olivet Nazarene (18) Second Round — 9 a.m. on Wednesday, May 18 Fresno Pacific (1) vs. Aquinas-St. Thomas winner Xavier (8) vs. Vanguard-Mobile winner Azusa Pacific (5) vs. Graceland-Huntington winner Oklahoma Christian (4) vs. Concordia-Bethany winner Auburn Montgomery (3) vs. Lindsey Wilson - Lewis-Clark State winner Westmont (6) vs. Shorter-Hastings winner Point Loma Nazarene (7) vs. Union-Brescia winner Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (2) vs. William Carey-Olivet Nazarene winner Quarterfinals — 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 19 Semifinals — 9 a.m. on Friday, May 20 Championship — 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 21 Xavier at Nationals (2-2) May 12, 2009 (first round): Xavier 5, Oklahoma Christian 4 May 13, 2009 (second round): Auburn Montgomery 5, Xavier 0 May 18, 2010 (first round): Xavier 5, Tennessee Wesleyan 3 May 19, 2010 (second round): Fresno Pacific 5, Xavier 1

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Xavier Gold Rush qualify for nationals for third straight season

Xavier Tennis Coach Alan Green

"Our guys came out like men who had families to feed. We trusted each other out there and kept our composure throughout the match. When we play like that, we are very tough to beat." — XU Coach Alan Green.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The Xavier University of Louisiana men's tennis team followed the clearly defined path Saturday.

The Gold Rush, ranked 11th in the NAIA, defeated 23rd-ranked Martin Methodist 5-2 to earn an automatic bid to the national tournament for the third consecutive year. The qualifying event was for teams whose conferences did not meet requirements for automatic bids.

A loss would've left Xavier (13-9) waiting for an at-large bid to the 24-team event — a strong possibility, considering the Gold Rush's ranking — but after beating Martin Methodist (14-6) for the second time in as many tries this season, Xavier won't be involved with that suspense.

"Our guys came out like men who had families to feed," Coach Alan Green said. "We trusted each other out there and kept our composure throughout the match. When we play like that, we are very tough to beat."

Juniors Zach Taylor, Steffen Giles-Osborn and Sean Richardson won in doubles and singles for the Gold Rush. Taylor, winning for the first time in his last seven singles matches, put Xavier ahead to stay at 3-2 when he beat Renato Castro 6-1, 6-3 at No. 2. Giles-Osborn beat Alvaro Morcillo 6-3, 6-4 at No. 3 to give the Rush a 4-2 lead, and Richardson clinched with his fifth victory in six matches, a 6-3, 6-3 decision against Juan Suarez at No. 5.

Giles-Osborn and Richardson were the only Gold Rush players who were 2-0 in doubles and 2-0 in singles in the two-day, four-team qualifier.

Because of only five available players, Xavier defaulted at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles. But the Rush did not drop a set in any of the five completed matches. Taylor and Hassan Abbas, ranked 15th among NAIA doubles teams, improved to 15-7 with an 8-0 victory against Vinicius Santos and Suarez. Giles-Osborn and Richardson teamed for an 8-6 decision against Castro and Fabio Santos. Vinicius Santos was the TranSouth Conference Player of the Year this season, and Fabio Santos and Suarez were all-conference in singles and doubles.

It was the second loss in the last 13 duals for Martin Methodist, which opened its season with a 6-3 loss to Xavier on Feb. 18 in Nashville, Tenn.

"This match seemed a bit easier," Green said. "Martin Methodist played a different doubles lineup, and I think the matchups were favorable to us."

It was Xavier's third victory of the season against a ranked NAIA opponent. The XU men have two additional victories against NAIA teams which were unranked at the time of those matches but were ranked in the most recent poll. Xavier is 7-1 at neutral sites and 4-0 in Tennessee.

Xavier's men never qualified for nationals before 2009, and they won first-round matches in both previous appearances. The NAIA National Championship will start May 17 in Mobile, Ala. Pairings will be announced by 5 p.m. on May 10.

"We look forward to playing the nation's best teams in 95-degree Gulf Coast heat," Green said.

Results



By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

XU Nuggets beat Union to reach semifinals of NAIA qualifier

Xavier freshman Nicole DeLoach won doubles and singles matches.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Freshman Nicole DeLoach earned doubles and singles victories Friday to help Xavier University of Louisiana's women's tennis team earn a 5-0 decision against Union (Ky.) in the opening round of an NAIA National Championship qualifying tournment.

The Gold Nuggets (4-17), seeded second, snapped a six-dual losing streak and advanced to a 10 a.m. EDT Saturday semifinal against third-seeded Milligan, a 5-0 winner against Bethel (Tenn.). Cumberland defeated Tennessee Wesleyan 5-2, and top-seeded Martin Methodist beat Reinhardt 6-1 in th other quarterfinals.

DeLoach, paired for the first time this season with freshman Amber Brown, defeated Marah Rice and Meredith Dambrus 8-0 at No. 2 doubles. DeLoach clinched the dual with her 6-0, 6-1 victory over Dambrus at No. 4 singles.

Melissa DeLoach, a senior and Nicole's sister, teamed with Carmen Nelson for an 8-5 victory over Diane Proteau and Ximena Aguilar at No. 1. The Gold Nuggets also earned default victories at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles.

XU's women won for just the second time in their last 17 duals and won on the road for the first time since Feb. 11. It was the first time this season the Gold Nuggets won without dropping a match.

Xavier defeated Union (2-9) in the postseason for the second time in three years. The first time was in the opening round of the 2009 NAIA National Championship.

Results

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

XU Rush, Nuggets seek automatic bids at NAIA qualifier

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The postseason begins Friday for the Xavier University of Louisiana tennis teams in a qualifying tournament for the NAIA National Championship at Champions Club.

The event is for conferences which did not qualify for automatic bids to the national tournament. But automatic bids will be awarded to the men's and women's champions of this two-day tourney.

Coach Alan Green, middle, hopes to take his women
 to the NAIA National Championship for the fourth
 consecutive year and his men for the third straight year.

The Gold Rush (11-9), ranked 11th in the NAIA coaches poll, are seeded first in the four-team men's bracket and will play fourth-seeded Bethel (Tenn.) (5-13) at 1:30 p.m. EDT. XU's women (3-17), still receiving votes in the national poll, are seeded second out of eight teams and will play seventh-seeded Union (Ky.) (2-8) at 10 a.m. EDT.

XU seeks its fourth consecutive berth in the women's draw of the NAIA National Championship and its third consecutive berth in the men's field. The national tournament will start May 17 in Mobile, Ala.

"That's a primary goal every year — to get our teams to nationals and then see how far they can go," eighth-year XU Coach Alan Green said. "There are automatic bids on the line. We want to get those bids this weekend and, in the case of our men, not have to depend on an at-large selection."

XU's men reached the top 10 for the first time in the program's history on March 8 and stayed there for two additional polls. A 6-3 victory at Vanguard on March 4 was the Gold Rush's first against an NAIA top-10 opponent.

NAIA National Championship Qualifying Tournament (seedings in parentheses) MEN Semifinals — Friday Xavier (1) vs. Bethel (Tenn.) (4) Martin Methodist (2) vs. Cumberland (3) WOMEN Quarterfinals — Friday Xavier (2) vs. Union (Ky.) (7) Milligan (3) vs. Bethel (Tenn.) (6) Martin Methodist (1) vs. Reinhardt (8) Cumberland (4) vs. Tennessee Wesleyan (5)

The Gold Nuggets have dropped six straight and 15 of their last 16 duals. But after playing the entire regular season with just five players, walk-on freshman Courtney Martin was added to the postseason roster to help the Nuggets avoid forfeits at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles.

Seniors Hassan Abbas (13-6 singles, 13-7 doubles) of the Rush and Melissa DeLoach (7-15 singles, 11-11 doubles) of the Nuggets lead their respective teams in combined victories.

Martin Methodist, ranked 23rd in the men's poll, is seeded second in the qualifier. XU beat Martin Methodist 6-3 in Nashville, Tenn., on Feb. 18.

Martin Methodist's 18th-ranked women are seeded first. The Gold Nuggets are seeded one spot higher than Milligan, even though Milligan received 39 more points than XU in the most recent national poll.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Xavier Nuggets close regular season with loss to Southeastern

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's women closed their regular season Tuesday with a 9-0 loss to Southeastern Louisiana at City Park Tennis Center.

The loss was the sixth in a row for the Gold Nuggets (3-17) and the 15th in their last 16 duals. It was Xavier's ninth loss of the season against an NCAA Division I opponent.

Audrey Chelini, Morgane Dadot and Isabel Brito won in singles and doubles for Southeastern (9-13) in its season finale. Chelini and Raissa Dias defeated Amber Brown and Carmen Nelson 8-3 at No. 1 doubles, then Chelini beat Brown 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1 singles.

Morgane Dadot and Isabel Brito teamed for an 8-5 victory against sisters Melissa and Nicole DeLoach at No. 2. In singles Dadot beat Nicole DeLoach (XU) 7-5, 6-2, and Brito clinched the dual with a 6-0, 6-0 decision against Ashley McGill.

It was the final home match for Melissa DeLoach and McGill, both seniors. Also Tuesday the Nuggets were among others receiving votes for the third consecutive time in the NAIA coaches poll.

Next for Xavier's women and men will be an NAIA National Championship qualifying tournament April 29-30 at Chattanooga, Tenn.



By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

XU Gold Rush drop from eighth to 11th in NAIA coaches poll

NEW ORLEANS — After three consecutive appearances at a program-record No. 8, Xavier University of Louisiana fell to 11th Tuesday in the NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll.

Losses to William Carey and Tulane since the last poll extended the losing streak of the Gold Rush (11-9) to four duals. Still, 11th is higher than any XU men's team prior to this season. The Gold Rush are in the the top 25 for the 30th consecutive time dating to April 4, 2007, and it's the 21st straight time dating to April 30, 2008, that the Gold Rush are among the top 18.

The top five teams are the same as the previous poll, with Fresno Pacific ranked first for the 13th consecutive time. This was the sixth of eight polls this season. The final two rankings will be announced May 3 and 8.

Tulane was Xavier's final regular-season opponent. The Gold Rush will travel to Chattanooga, Tenn., for an NAIA National Championship qualifying tournament April 29-30 at Champions Club Tennis Complex. The XU men are trying to reach the national tournament for the third consecutive year.



NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, April 17)
Rank Team Record Points Last
1 Fresno Pacific (11) 20-2 281 1
2 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 14-6 270 2
3 Auburn Montgomery 19-3 262 3
4 Azusa Pacific 15-5 253 4
5 Oklahoma Christian 17-1 249 5
6 Westmont 11-5 236 7
7 Point Loma Nazarene 13-4 225 6
8 Concordia (Calif.) 8-13 210 9
9 William Carey 10-8 203 19
10 Union (Ky.) 14-4 197 NR
11 Xavier 11-9 194 8
12 Vanguard 6-13 189 10
13 Graceland 8-4 182 11
14 Aquinas 22-3 153 14
15 Shorter 9-2 152 12
16 St. Thomas (Fla.) 13-3 151 13
17 Lindsey Wilson 11-5 131 NR
18 Lewis-Clark State 9-7 122 15
19 Olivet Nazarene 13-2 117 17
20-tie SCAD Savannah 7-4 113 16
20-tie McKendree 15-2 113 18
22 Tennessee Wesleyan 9-5 89 NR
23 Martin Methodist 12-4 84 20
24 Webber International 13-6 68 21
25-tie Bethany (Kan.) 17-3 48 25
25-tie Lee (Tenn.) 3-5 48 23

Others receiving votes: Campbellsville 47, Cumberland 42, Lindenwood 39, Northwood (Fla.) 17, Northwestern Ohio 12, Belhaven 8, Biola 5, Walsh 3, Georgetown (Ky.) 1.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Xavier Gold Rush close regular season with 7-0 loss at Tulane

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana closed its regular season Wednesday with a 7-0 loss at Tulane in the first-ever men's tennis dual match between the schools.

It was the fourth consecutive loss for the XU men (11-9) and their seventh in 10 duals since a 6-3 victory March 4 at Vanguard which propelled them into the NAIA's top 10. It also was the regular-season finale for Tulane (11-10), which has won three straight and five of its last six.

Rodrigo Rappaccioli clinched the doubles point for Tulane when he and Shaye Wali defeated Steffen Giles-Osborn and Sean Richardson 8-4 at No. 2. Rappaccioli clinched the dual with his 6-1, 6-1 victory over Amir Rahbar at No. 4 singles.

Giles-Osborn was the only Gold Rush player to win a set, but he lost 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-3) to Joe Young at No. 2 singles. Zach Taylor, playing No. 3 singles, forced a second-set tiebreaker before losing 6-0, 7-6 (7-5) to Radu Ionescu.

The loss was Xavier's fifth in seven duals this season against NCAA Division I opponents.

The Gold Rush, ranked eighth in the NAIA, will compete next in an NAIA National Championship qualifying tournament April 29-30 at Chattanooga, Tenn. Xavier's women still have two regular-season duals remaining.



By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

XU Gold Rush doubly disappointed in loss at William Carey

HATTIESBURG, Miss. — William Carey swept three doubles matches and rolled to a 6-3 victory over Xavier University of Louisiana in a meeting of ranked NAIA men's tennis teams Sunday.

William Carey's 13th-ranked women defeated Xavier 8-1.

Carey's men (10-8), ranked 19th, avenged a 5-4 loss to the No. 8 Gold Rush (11-8) from four weeks ago at the AUM Invitational, when Xavier won two of three doubles matches. Jody Claassen and Thomas Rizk, a 9-8 loser to Zach Taylor and Hassan Abbas in March, won 8-2 against the ITA's 15th-ranked tandem to give the Crusaders their first point of the dual. Anton Ivanov and Alvar Ribalta made it 3-0 when they beat Steffen Giles-Osborn and Sean Richardson 9-8 (7-5), and Claassen clinched at No 1 singles when Giles-Osborn retired while trailing 5-7, 6-1, 1-0.



Results:  Men    Women

Abbas, Amir Rahbar and Richardson won in singles for Xavier. Abbas rallied to beat Toni Gauta 2-6, 6-1, 7-5 at No. 2, Rahbar defeated Younes Hidass 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 at No. 4, and Richardson beat Dominik Kardell 6-2, 6-3 at No. 6. But the Abbas and Rahbar victories came after the dual was decided.

Xavier (3-15) scored its only point of the women's dual when sisters Melissa and Nicole DeLoach snapped a three-match losing streak by holding off Anastasia Khabirova and Petra Pesic 8-6 at No. 2. But the Gold Nuggets again were shorthanded, defaulting the No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles matches, and William Carey (12-5) clinched when Joyce Oliviera defeated Ashley McGill 6-1, 6-0 at No. 5 singles.

Melissa DeLoach lost 6-2, 2-6, 1-0 (10-6) to Alexandra Kaluza at No. 3 in DeLoach's first singles super-tiebreaker of the season.

Both William Carey teams have four-dual win streaks. Xavier's men have lost three in a row, and the Gold Nuggets have lost four straight and 13 of their last 14.

Both Xavier teams will close the regular season this week — the Gold Rush at Tulane at 3 p.m. Wednesday, the Gold Nuggets against South Alabama at 11 a.m. Saturday at City Park — then travel to Chattanooga, Tenn., for an NAIA National Championship qualifying tournament April 29-30.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Xavier's Abbas repeats as GCAC Player of the Week

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Hassan Abbas is the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week in men's tennis for the second consecutive time.

Hassan Abbas

Abbas, a senior from Saltaire, England, and a graduate of Bingley Grammar School and Ventura College, won in doubles and singles Saturday in a 4-3 loss at the University of New Orleans, an NCAA Division I member. Abbas and Zach Taylor won 8-6 against Benjamin Bouhana and Hossam Meligy at No. 1 doubles, then Abbas tied the dual at 3 with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) victory against Vinay Kamineni at No. 1 singles.

Abbas — 12-5 in singles and 13-5 in doubles this season — also won the GCAC award for March 7-13. There were no nominees for March 14-20 or March 21-27. Abbas won the award once in 2010.

Xavier's men and women will travel to Hattiesburg, Miss., for duals with William Carey at 10 a.m. Sunday. Xavier's men are 11-7 and ranked eighth in the NAIA.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
Visit: Xavier University of Louisiana
Visit: XULAATHLETICS

Xavier Gold Nuggets lose more ground in NAIA rankings

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana was among the others receiving votes for the second consecutive time when the NAIA announced its women's tennis top 25 Tuesday.

The Gold Nuggets are 29th overall after receiving 16 points and missing the top 25 by 41 points. Xavier's women had appeared in 44 consecutive top 25s dating to 2004 before falling short in the March 22 poll.

Defending NAIA champion Fresno Pacific is No. 1 for the fifth time in as many polls this season. The Sunbirds collected nine of 10 first-place votes, with No. 2 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) receiving the other.

Xavier (3-14), loser of three straight duals and 12 of its last 13, will travel to 13th-ranked William Carey for a 10 a.m. dual Sunday. The Gold Nuggets will close the regular season against South Alabama at 11 a.m. on April 16 at City Park, then travel to Chattanooga, Tenn., for an NAIA National Championship qualifying tournament April 29-30.



Videographer: EdFunders; Dr. Norman Francis, America's longest serving university president, speaks at Grantmakers for Education's 2010 conference, "The Fierce Urgency of Now: Fulfilling the Promise of Excellence and Equity."

NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, April 3)
Rank Team Record Points Last
1 Fresno Pacific (9) 12-4 250 1
2 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (1) 15-3 242 2
3 Point Loma Nazarene 12-1 233 3
4 Auburn Montgomery 17-5 227 4
5-tie Oklahoma Christian 10-2 214 6
5-tie Azusa Pacific 15-3 214 5
7 Concordia (Calif.) 10-5 196 tie-8
8 Brenau 5-5 194 7
9 SCAD Savannah 9-1 192 tie-8
10 Vanguard 8-6 174 10
11 Shorter 8-0 173 11
12 Southern Nazarene 7-4 161 12
13 William Carey 8-5 156 13
14 Olivet Nazarene 13-1 142 NR
15 Oklahoma Baptist 7-5 137 15
16 Lee (Tenn.) 7-3 124 18
17 Indiana Wesleyan 17-1 116 14
18 St. Thomas (Fla.) 9-7 111 17
19 Lewis-Clark State 5-11 102 19
20 Martin Methodist 7-4 96 22
21 Campbellsville 8-4 95 RV
22 William Jewell 11-6 90 20
23 Cumberlands 6-8 72 RV
24 Webber International 12-5 68 21
25 Belhaven 12-2 57 24

Others receiving votes: Lindsey Wilson 54, Westmont 45, Indiana Southeast 23, Xavier 16, Northwestern Ohio 8, Taylor 7, Georgetown (Ky.) 5, McKendree 3, Spring Hill 3, Mobile 1, Northwood (Fla.) 1, Robert Morris (Chicago) 1, The Master's (Calif.) 1, Marian (Ind.) 1, Milligan 1.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
Xavier University of Louisiana
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Taylor, Abbas ranked nationally in NAIA singles, doubles

Hassan Abbas

NEW ORLEANS — Two men from Xavier University of Louisiana — junior Zach Taylor and senior Hassan Abbas — are ranked nationally in NAIA singles and doubles by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

The rankings, the first of the spring semester, were announced this week.

Taylor is 23rd and Abbas 39th in singles, and as a doubles team they're 15th. In the NAIA's South rankings, Taylor is eighth, Abbas 14th and Steffen Giles-Osborn 20th in singles. Taylor and Abbas are fifth in doubles, and Giles-Osborn and Sean Richardson are 10th.

The women's doubles team of Amber Brown and Carmen Nelson is 14th in the South.

Taylor is from Monroe, La., and a graduate of St. Frederick High School. Abbas is from Saltaire, England, and a graduate of Bingley Grammar School. Both are graduates of Ventura College.

Giles-Osborn is a junior from Atlanta and a graduate of Westlake High, and Richardson is from Ellenwood, Ga., and a graduate of Stockbridge High. Brown is a home-schooled freshman from Decatur, Ga., and Nelson is a sophomore from Jonesboro, Ga., and a Faith Academy graduate.

The fifth NAIA team rankings of the season will be announced Tuesday.

Where the NAIA ranks Xavier tennis
Men's Singles
Zach Taylor: 23rd nationally, 8th in South
Hassan Abbas: 39th nationally, 14th in South
Steffen Giles-Osborn: 20th in South
Men's Doubles
Zach Taylor and Hassan Abbas: 15th nationally, 5th in South
Steffen Giles-Osborn and Sean Richardson: 10th in South
Women's Doubles
Amber Brown and Carmen Nelson: 14th in South

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
Xavier University of Louisiana
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Auburn Montgomery teams shut down Xavier again

NEW ORLEANS, La. — Auburn Montgomery continued its tennis dominance of Xavier University of Louisiana, beating the Gold Rush 9-0 and the Gold Nuggets 7-0 Saturday at City Park.

AUM is 10-0 the last eight seasons against XU's men and 7-0 the last seven seasons against XU's women.

The closest matches were in the men's dual, where XU singles players Zach Taylor and Steffen Giles-Osborn split sets. But both lost third-set super tiebreakers — Bence Toth beat Taylor 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-4) at No. 2, and Loic Didavi defeated Giles-Osborn 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-4) at No. 3 in a matchup of top-30 NAIA singles players.

Bruno Savi and Claudio Andrade, the NAIA's top-ranked doubles team, beat Giles-Osborn and Sean Richardson 8-2 at No. 2.

In the women's dual Xavier's Carmen Nelson lost 6-2, 6-3 to ninth-ranked Jade Curtis at No. 2 singles in the Gold Nuggets' most competitive match. The Lady Senators won all 12 sets, seven without dropping a game.

AUM's men are ranked third in the NAIA and the defending national champion, and the women are fourth. Both teams are 14-2. Xavier's men (11-6) are eighth, and the women (3-12) are receiving votes and 27th overall.

Both Xavier teams will play Fisk in Gulf Coast Athletic Conference duals at 1 p.m. next Saturday at City Park.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
Xavier University of Louisiana
Visit: XULA Athletics