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Showing posts with label NAIA Division I Tennis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NAIA Division I Tennis. Show all posts
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.
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.
NEW ORLEANS — Jordyn Goody of Lake Charles, La., and St. Louis Catholic High School has signed a women's tennis scholarship with Xavier University of Louisiana.
Goody and Juliann Baggett were the Division II (Class 4A) state runner-up in girls doubles in May and the Division II-Region II champion in April. Goody helped St. Louis finish second in the team standings at the state tournament and win the regional team championship.
Goody was a regional champion for St. Louis in singles as a sophomore and junior and in doubles with Maggie Laborde as a freshman. Goody and Laborde reached the Division III (Class 3A) semifinals in 2008 and helped St. Louis win the team championship.
A right-hander, Goody was 10th in Louisiana in the final USTA girls 18 singles rankings of 2010 and qualified for Southern Closed tournaments in each of the five age groups. She will be a biology/pre-medical major at Xavier.
Also signed with Xavier for next season is Amanda Materre of Richmond, Texas. Also eligible for the Gold Nuggets next season will be Kourtney Howell of Cypress, Texas, who enrolled at XU in January after transferring from Navy.
Xavier competes in the NAIA's Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. The Gold Nuggets qualified for the NAIA National Championship five of the last seven seasons and won first-round dual matches at nationals all five times.
NEW ORLEANS — For the second time in three years, Xavier University of Louisiana's Alan Green is Coach of the Year on the All-Louisiana men's tennis team selected by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
The team, announced late Saturday, includes two Xavier players. Senior Hassan Abbas made the first team, and junior Zach Taylor is on the second team.
Green, a New Orleans native in his eighth season at Xavier, led the Gold Rush to a 13-9 record, a third consecutive berth in the NAIA National Championship, the program's first top-10 ranking and the first victory against a top-10 NAIA opponent — 6-3 at Vanguard on March 4. XU had five victories against teams in the final NAIA coaches poll and two victories vs. NCAA Division I. All the losses were to ranked NAIA opponents or D-I.
This was the first Xavier team in any sport to be ranked in the top 10 of a final NAIA poll since women's basketball in 1997-98. XU was top 10 in four of the last five polls.
Abbas, from Saltaire, England, and a graduate of Bingley Grammar School and Ventura (Calif.) College, is the first XU men's tennis player to make the All-Louisiana first team twice or in consecutive seasons. Abbas was 15-6 in singles and 15-8 doubles this season and was 31st in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association/NAIA singles rankings.
Taylor, from Monroe, La., and a graduate of St. Frederick High School and Ventura College, was 11-10 in singles and 15-8 in doubles. He was 24th in ITA/NAIA singles rankings. Taylor and Abbas are 15th nationally in doubles.
2010-11 All-Louisiana Collegiate Men's Tennis Team
First Team
Name
School
Class
Hometown
Idan Mark
Tulane
So.
Santana Hod Hasharon, Israel
Neal Skupski
LSU
Jr.
Liverpool, England
Sebastian Carlsson
LSU
Sr.
Uppsala, Sweden
Dmitry Kozionov
Nicholls State
So.
Ivhevsk, Russia
Hassan Abbas
Xavier
Sr.
Saltaire, England
Abdelrahman Zaki
New Orleans
Jr.
Egypt
Second Team
Name
School
Class
Hometown
Hossam Meligy
New Orleans
So.
Egypt
Julien Gauthier
LSU
Sr.
Repentigny, Canada
Joe Young
Tulane
So.
Redlands, Calif.
Palash Tiwari
Nicholls State
So.
New Delhi, India
Zach Taylor
Xavier
Jr.
Monroe, La.
Yanick Mandl
Louisiana-Lafayette
Jr.
Thalwil, Switzerland
Player of the Year: Neal Skupski, LSU Newcomer of the Year: Idan Mark, Tulane Freshman of the Year: Hossam Meligy, New Orleans Coach of the Year:Alan Green, Xavier
NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Hassan Abbas and Zach Taylor were second-team selections on the 2011 NAIA Men's Tennis All-America Teams announced Tuesday.
Earning honorable mention was XU's Steffen Giles-Osborn.
Abbas and Taylor are Xavier's fourth and fifth men's tennis All-Americans of the modern era. Mike Green (2009), Terry Richardson (2009) and Miroslav Vukicevic (2008) also were second-team selections. Abbas, a senior from Saltaire, England, and a graduate of Bingley Grammar School and Ventura (Calif.) College, was 15-6 in singles and 15-8 doubles this season and was 31st in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association/NAIA singles rankings.
Taylor, a junior from Monroe, La., and a graduate of St. Frederick High School and Ventura College, was 11-10 in singles and 15-8 in doubles. He was 24th in ITA/NAIA singles rankings. Taylor and Abbas are 15th nationally in doubles.
Giles-Osborn, a junior from Atlanta, Ga., and a graduate of Westlake High School, was 12-14 in singles and 13-14 in doubles. He was 17th in the South in the ITA/NAIA singles rankings and 15th in the South in doubles with Sean Richardson.
Xavier was 13-9 this season, winning the NAIA Unaffiliated Group 2 Tournament and qualifying for the NAIA National Championship for the third consecutive year. The XU men's No. 8 final ranking was their highest ever.
The 2010-11 Xavier University of Louisiana men's tennis team: from left, Zach Taylor, Jonathan Aubrey, Steffen Giles-Osborn, Coach Alan Green, Amir Rahbar, Sean Richardson and Hassan Abbas. (Photo courtesy - Xavier University Sports Information)
MOBILE, Ala. — Xavier University of Louisiana will get a rematch with Vanguard in Wednesday's second round of the NAIA Men's Tennis National Championship at Copeland-Cox Tennis Center.
Xavier, 13-9 and the No. 8 seed, had a first-round bye Tuesday. Vanguard, 8-13 and the No. 9 seed, advanced to the second round with a 9-0 victory against No. 24 Mobile.
The XU men won 6-3 at Vanguard on March 4 for their first-ever victory against a top-10 NAIA opponent. The Gold Rush won at the top two doubles flights and got singles victories from Zach Taylor, Hassan Abbas, Amir Rahbar and Sean Richardson. Taylor clinched the dual with his 6-2, 7-5 victory against Pereira, the NAIA's 10th-ranked singles player.
This is Xavier's third consecutive appearance at nationals. The Gold Rush lost in the second round to the eventual runner-up each of the past two seasons after first-round victories against Oklahoma Christian in 2009 and Tennessee Wesleyan in 2010.
The Gold Rush will try to become the second Xavier team in any sport to reach the NAIA quarterfinals. The only time it happened was in men's basketball in 1973.
NAIA National Championship (seedings in parentheses) First Round — 9 a.m. on Tuesday, May 17
St. Thomas (Fla.) (17) d. Aquinas (16) 5-4
Vanguard (9) d. Mobile (24) 9-0
Graceland (12) d. Huntington (Ind.) (21) 8-1
Concordia (Calif.) (13) d. Bethany (Kan.) (20) 5-3
Lindsey Wilson (14) d. Lewis-Clark State (19) 6-3
Shorter (11) d. Hastings (22) 8-1
Union (Ky.) (10) d. Brescia (23) 9-0
William Carey (15) d. Olivet Nazarene (18) 6-3 Second Round — 9 a.m. on Wednesday, May 18
Fresno Pacific (1) vs. St. Thomas (Fla.) (17)
Xavier (8) vs. Vanguard (9)
Azusa Pacific (5) vs. Graceland (12)
Oklahoma Christian (4) vs. Concordia (Calif.) (13)
Auburn Montgomery (3) vs. Lindsey Wilson (14)
Westmont (6) vs. Shorter (11)
Point Loma Nazarene (7) vs. Union (Ky.) (10)
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (2) vs. William Carey (15) 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
Vanguard, from Costa Mesa, Calif., reached the NAIA quarterfinals six of the last seven seasons and was a semifinalist in 2004 and 2000. The Lions tied for fifth place in the Golden State Athletic Conference and are one of six GSAC teams ranked among the final top 12.
Higher seeds won seven of eight first-round matches Tuesday. The exception was No 17 St. Thomas (Fla.), which defeated No. 16 Aquinas 5-4.
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.
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
NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana climbed one notch Monday to reach a program-record-tying No. 8 in the final NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 of the season.
The Gold Rush (13-9), idle since winning a qualifying tournament for the NAIA National Championship at Chattanooga, Tenn., on April 30, swapped places with Vanguard from last week's poll. Xavier won 6-3 at Vanguard on March 4.
Xavier first reached No. 8 in the March 8 poll and remained there for two additional rankings. XU's men were in the top 10 in five of the final six polls.
This is the first Xavier team to reach the top 10 in a final NAIA poll since women's basketball was No. 4 in 1997-98.
The Gold Rush are in the the top 25 for the 32nd consecutive time dating to April 4, 2007 — that's the fifth longest active streak among NAIA men's teams — and it's the 23rd straight time dating to April 30, 2008, that the Gold Rush are among the top 18. It's the sixth consecutive season that the XU men are among the top 25 in the final poll.
Xavier has qualified for the national tournament for the third consecutive season. The NAIA will announce seedings and pairings for the 24-team event by 5 p.m. Tuesday. The tournament will begin May 17 at Mobile, Ala.
Fresno Pacific received all the first-place votes and is No. 1 in the final poll for the second straight season.
Xavier's women, whose season ended April 30 with a 5-0 loss to Milligan in the semifinals of the qualifying tournament, are out of the top 25 for the fifth consecutive time after 44 straight appearances. The Gold Nuggets collected three points, two more than last week, to tie for 33rd place.
In last season's final polls, Xavier's men were 16th, and the women were 19th. This is the first time since 2003 that the Gold Nuggets are not among the final top 25.
NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll(first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, May 8)
Rank
Team
Record
Points
Last
1
Fresno Pacific (10)
21-2
250
1
2
Embry-Riddle (Fla.)
14-6
242
2
3
Auburn Montgomery
23-3
233
3
4
Oklahoma Christian
21-1
226
4
5
Azusa Pacific
15-6
218
5
6
Westmont
12-5
210
6
7
Point Loma Nazarene
15-7
200
7
8
Xavier
13-9
192
9
9
Vanguard
7-13
183
8
10
Union (Ky.)
17-5
177
10
11
Shorter
12-4
166
12
12
Concordia (Calif.)
8-14
163
11
13
Graceland
11-5
151
13
14
Lindsey Wilson
14-5
147
15
15
William Carey
12-9
143
14
16
Aquinas
24-3
136
16
17
St. Thomas (Fla.)
14-3
119
17
18
Olivet Nazarene
14-3
110
18
19
Lewis-Clark State
10-8
103
19
20
McKendree
20-3
99
20
21
Tennessee Wesleyan
11-6
90
21
22
SCAD Savannah
7-4
84
22
23
Martin Methodist
14-5
82
23
24
Bethany (Kan.)
21-3
61
25
25
Webber International
13-6
60
24
Others receiving votes: Lee (Tenn.) 47, Campbellsville 33, Cumberland 22, Lindenwood 20, Northwood (Fla.) 18, Northwestern Ohio 15, Biola 8, Our Lady of the Lake 7, Georgetown (Ky.) 1.
NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll(first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, May 8)
Rank
Team
Record
Points
Last
1
Fresno Pacific (11)
18-4
312
1
2
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (1)
20-3
302
2
3
Auburn Montgomery
23-5
288
3
4
Azusa Pacific
19-4
281
4
5
Oklahoma Christian
17-2
274
5
6
Point Loma Nazarene
19-3
265
6
7
Concordia (Calif.)
14-7
252
7
8
Brenau
10-7
241
8
9
SCAD Savannah
10-2
231
9
10
Vanguard
10-10
222
10
11
Southern Nazarene
14-6
208
11
12
William Carey
14-6
203
12
13
Lee (Tenn.)
9-5
192
13
14
Olivet Nazarene
19-1
176
14
15
Shorter
11-4
173
15
16
Lewis-Clark State
6-14
155
tie-16
17
Indiana Wesleyan
21-1
154
tie-16
18
Martin Methodist
15-5
145
18
19
Lindsey Wilson
13-5
139
19
20
Oklahoma Baptist
9-10
112
20
21
Campbellsville
14-5
111
22
22
St. Thomas (Fla.)
9-9
108
21
23
William Jewell
17-7
96
23
24
Webber International
12-8
79
24
25
Belhaven
14-3
68
25
Others receiving votes: Westmont 49, Milligan 49, McKendree 27, Indiana Southeast 26, Robert Morris (Chicago) 18, Cumberlands 16, Taylor 6, Xavier 3, Marian (Ind.) 3, Georgetown (Ky.) 1, Spring Hill 1, Northwood (Fla.) 1, Mobile 1, Northwestern Ohio 1.
NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Zach Taylor was selected NAIA Men's Tennis Player of the Week for April 25-May 1. He also won a similar honor from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference.
Taylor, a junior from Monroe, La., and a graduate of St. Frederick High School and Ventura College, won 38 of 47 games to help the Gold Rush win both its dual matches in a qualifying tourna
ment at Chattanooga, Tenn., for the NAIA National Championship. Taylor and Hassan Abbas, the NAIA's 15th-ranked doubles team, defeated Martin Methodist's Vinicius Santos — the TranSouth Athletic Conference Player of the Year — and Juan Suarez 8-0 in the championship dual, and Taylor put the Gold Rush ahead to stay with his 6-1, 6-3 victory against Renato Castro.
"Our men had never been in the top 10 or beaten a top-10 team before Zach started playing for us this year," said eighth-year XU Coach Alan Green. "He has been a difference-maker."
Taylor, 10-10 in singles and 15-7 in doubles this season, is the first Xavier athlete to win an NAIA national player-of-the-week award since Brittany Powell (women's basketball) did it for Jan. 18-24, 2010. This is the first season of the NAIA's weekly tennis awards. The GCAC award is Taylor's third this season.
XU's men, 13-9 and ranked ninth, will compete in the NAIA National Championship at Mobile, Ala., from May 17-21.
"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.