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Showing posts with label Xavier Gold Nuggets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Xavier Gold Nuggets. Show all posts
NEW ORLEANS — Lawrence Stansberry IV of New Orleans and Darian Towns of Memphis, Tenn., have signed cross country scholarships with Xavier University of Louisiana. Both will be XU freshmen in August.
Stansberry finished 12th for Brother Martin High School in the District 10-5A championship meet as a junior in 2009 and recorded his best three-mile time, 16 minutes and 57 seconds, while finishing 13th at the Brother Martin Invitational in October. His other best times include 2:15.60 for 800 meters, 4:50.61 for the 1,600 and 18:29.73 for the 5,000.
Darian Towns
Towns, competing for White Station High School, was the Region 8-AAA girls cross country champion in 2008 and 2010 and finished 10th as a sophomore in the state meet. Her best times are 19:24 for 5,000 meters — she has broken 20 minutes three times in that event — 2:29.72 for the 800, 5:22.86 for the 1,600, 5:35.49 for one mile and 11:45.94 for the 3,200.
Xavier has signed three men and three women for next season. XU competes in the NAIA's Gulf Coast Athletic Conference and won the last five GCAC women's and men's team championships.
NOTES: Zahri Jackson, who signed with Xavier during the winter and is graduating a year early from Kingwood Park High School in Kingwood, Texas, won the 1,600 Friday in 4:57.33 at the University Interscholastic League state track and field meet in Austin. Jackson is unbeaten in the 1,600 in five meets this year, including district and region championships, and she's 10th among U.S. juniors at that distance this outdoor season.
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 — For the fourth time in five polls, Xavier University of Louisiana is among the top 10 in the NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25.
The Gold Rush (13-9) climbed two spots Tuesday to No. 9 after beating Bethel (Tenn.) 6-0 and Martin Methodist 5-2 to win an NAIA National Championship qualifying tournament at Chattanooga, Tenn. XU's men qualified for the national tournament for the third consecutive year.
Xavier was No. 8, a program record, for three consecutive polls beginning March 8.
The Gold Rush are in the the top 25 for the 31st consecutive time dating to April 4, 2007 — that's the fifth longest active streak among NAIA men's teams — and it's the 22nd straight time dating to April 30, 2008, that the Gold Rush are among the top 18.
NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll(first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, May 1)
Rank
Team
Record
Points
Last
1
Fresno Pacific (12)
21-2
312
1
2
Embry-Riddle (Fla.)
14-6
302
2
3
Auburn Montgomery
23-3
291
3
4
Oklahoma Christian
21-1
279
5
5
Azusa Pacific
15-6
276
4
6
Westmont
12-5
262
6
7
Point Loma Nazarene
15-7
252
7
8
Vanguard
7-13
228
12
9
Xavier
13-9
225
11
10
Union (Ky.)
17-5
217
10
11
Concordia (Calif.)
8-14
207
8
12
Shorter
12-4
206
15
13
Graceland
11-5
193
13
14
William Carey
12-9
183
9
15
Lindsey Wilson
14-5
176
17
16
Aquinas
24-3
174
14
17
St. Thomas (Fla.)
14-3
157
16
18
Olivet Nazarene
14-3
132
19
19
Lewis-Clark State
10-8
127
18
20
McKendree
20-3
122
tie-20
21
Tennessee Wesleyan
11-6
115
22
22
SCAD Savannah
7-4
109
tie-20
23
Martin Methodist
14-5
90
23
24
Webber International
13-6
79
24
25
Bethany (Kan.)
19-3
69
tie-25
Others receiving votes: Lee (Tenn.) 59; Campbellsville 41, Northwood (Fla.) 23, Huntington (Ind.) 23, Cumberland 22, Lindenwood 19, Northwestern Ohio 13, Walsh 6, Our Lady of the Lake 5, Georgetown (Ky.) 1, Biola 1.
NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll(first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, May 1)
Rank
Team
Record
Points
Last
1
Fresno Pacific (10)
18-4
281
1
2
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (1)
20-3
272
2
3
Auburn Montgomery
23-5
260
4
4
Azusa Pacific
19-4
253
6
5
Oklahoma Christian
17-2
244
5
6
Point Loma Nazarene
18-3
242
3
7
Concordia (Calif.)
14-7
226
7
8
Brenau
10-7
218
8
9
SCAD Savannah
10-2
207
9
10
Vanguard
10-10
201
10
11
Southern Nazarene
14-6
184
12
12
William Carey
14-6
182
13
13
Lee (Tenn.)
9-5
171
16
14
Olivet Nazarene
19-1
160
14
15
Shorter
11-4
156
11
16-tie
Indiana Wesleyan
21-1
139
17
16-tie
Lewis-Clark State
6-14
139
21
18
Martin Methodist
15-5
127
18
19
Lindsey Wilson
13-5
121
23
20
Oklahoma Baptist
9-10
110
15
21
St. Thomas (Fla.)
9-9
102
19
22
Campbellsville
14-5
96
20
23
William Jewell
17-7
90
22
24
Webber International
12-9
68
24
25
Belhaven
14-3
60
25
Others receiving votes: Westmont 42, Milligan 41, Cumberlands 27, Robert Morris (Chicago) 23, Indiana Southeast 19, McKendree 17, Taylor 5, The Master's 3, Northwood (Fla.) 3, Xavier 1, Mobile 1, Georgetown (Ky.) 1, Spring Hill 1,; Marian (Ind.) 1.
Lee (Tenn.) dropped out of the top 25 after being tied for 25th in the previous poll. That snapped the Flames' streak of 47 consecutive appearances in the top 25. There are no new teams in this week's top 25, and Xavier was one of seven teams to climb. The top three teams are the same as the previous poll, with Fresno Pacific ranked first for the 14th consecutive time. Martin Methodist, 0-2 this season against Xavier, remained 23rd.
This was the seventh of eight polls this season. The final rankings will be announced Sunday.
The Gold Rush will play May 17 in the first round or May 18 in the second round of the NAIA National Championship at Mobile, Ala.
Xavier's women, whose season ended Saturday with a 5-0 loss to Milligan in the semifinals of the qualifying tournament, are out of the top 25 for the fourth consecutive time. The Gold Nuggets collected one point to tie for 35th place.
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Just call it a pause in the recent success of the Xavier University of Louisiana women's tennis program.
Milligan defeated the Gold Nuggets 5-0 Saturday in the semifinals of an NAIA National Championship qualifying tournament. That ended Xavier's bid for a fourth consecutive appearance at next month's national tournament, and it ended the Nuggets' season at 4-18 — a sharp contrast to Coach Alan Green's first seven teams, which won nearly 70 percent of their dual matches.
"We'll be back," Green said. "Recruiting for next season is going well. We have some young talent coming back next season, and they're going to improve. I expect us to return to form."
Xavier dropped out of the top 25 on March 22 after 44 consecutive appearances dating to 2004, and the Nuggets won't appear the final top 25 for the first time since 2003. But Green said one important component never disappeared this season.
"Our women played hard this entire year," Green said. "I'm proud of each of them. The fight they showed will carry them in life, further than any amount of wins could ever do."
The 2010-11 Xavier University of Louisiana women's tennis team.
Amber Brown, Melissa DeLoach, Nicole DeLoach, Yazmin Hooper,
Courtney Martin, Ashley McGill, Carmen Nelson and Coach Alan Green
Milligan (12-6) swept the three doubles matches — the closest was Albany Kelly and Caitlin Conley's 8-6 victory over Carmen Nelson and Melissa DeLoach at the first flight — and the Buffaloes clinched when Halie Winfrey beat freshman walk-on Courtney Martin 6-2, 6-0 at No. 5 singles.
Two Xavier freshmen led their singles matches when the dual ended. Amber Brown led Kelly 6-4, 2-2 at No. 2, and Nicole DeLoach, Melissa's sister, led Celeste Carpenter 6-1, 4-3 at No. 4.
It was the final collegiate competition for Melissa DeLoach, a four-year letterwoman and this year's team MVP, and Ashley McGill. DeLoach trailed 6-4, 1-0 against Caitlin Conley at No. 3 singles when the dual ended. McGill and Martin lost 8-4 to Jessie Rose Remegi and JoLynne Heidt at No. 3 doubles, and Heidt beat McGill 6-1, 6-1 at No. 6 singles to give Milligan a 4-0 lead.
The Nuggets played the entire regular season with five players, resulting in automatic defaults at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles against opponents at full strength. The schedule was difficult too — half of the Nuggets' losses were to NCAA Division I opponents, and there were four more defeats against ranked NAIA opponents.
"We're not looking for any sympathy," Green said. "Like I said, our women battled all year. We hope to be much better on the court next season, and we'll try again to play as hard a schedule as we can. We'll look forward to those challenges."
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.
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.
NEW ORLEANS — Catherine Fakler of Phoenix, Ariz., and Xavier College Preparatory Roman Catholic High School has signed a women's cross country scholarship with Xavier University of Louisiana.
Fakler (pronounced FOCK-ler) has best times of 19 minutes, 22.68 seconds for three miles and 20:44.70 for 5,000 meters. She recorded her 5K best at the Nike Cross Nationals Southwest Regional at Gilbert, Ariz., in November.
Catherine Fakler
Other best times for Fakler include 5:24.98 for 1,600 meters and 11:55.52 for 3,200 meters — both recorded during the current outdoor track season — and 2:28.38 in the 800.
As a sophomore in 2008, Fakler finished 33rd out of 154 runners in Arizona's Class 5A Division I state meet. She was the Gators' fourth fastest finisher and helped XCP win the team championship.
Fakler has a 4.0 grade-point average at XCP and a composite ACT score of 30.
"I am very excited to have Catherine join our women's cross country program," XU Coach Joseph Moses said. "I expect her to be one of our top three runners this fall."
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
NEW ORLEANS — What does Xavier University of Louisiana have in common with Connecticut, Duke, North Carolina and Notre Dame?
All five colleges had men's and women's basketball teams that won at least 27 games during the 2010-11 season.
The list isn't much bigger than that. Xavier was one of three NAIA Division I members to reach a pair of 27s — Azusa Pacific and Texas Wesleyan were the others — and NAIA Division II's Davenport and Indiana Wesleyan also achieved it. No schools in NCAA Division II or III had a pair of 27-game winners.
U.S. four-year colleges with 27-game winners in men's and women's basketball during 2010-11.
So that brings the total to nine out of more than 1,200 four-year U.S. colleges which sponsor men's and women's teams.
"That's an amazing list," said Dennis Cousin, Xavier's athletics director. "It's not a long list, and that's why it's great to see Xavier on there. I know our coaches and athletes worked very hard this season. Any positive recognition is good for them and for Xavier."
Although Xavier's basketball teams have combined for nearly 50 20-win seasons, this was the first time that both reached 25 victories in the same season. It's the seventh time in Louisiana history that a college had a pair of 25-game winners and the fourth time for a pair of 27s.
Among Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Xavier is the first with a pair of 25-game winners since Norfolk State in 1994-95. Norfolk State is the only other HBCU with a pair of 27-game winners, accomplishing that in 1993-94.
U.S. four-year colleges with 27-game winners in men's and women's basketball during 2010-11
College
Affiliation
Women's W-L
Men's W-L
Azusa Pacific
NAIA I
33-5
29-6
Connecticut
NCAA I
36-2
32-9
Davenport
NAIA II
29-6
37-1
Duke
NCAA I
32-4
32-5
Indiana Wesleyan
NAIA II
28-8
29-6
North Carolina
NCAA I
29-8
28-9
Notre Dame
NCAA I
27-7
31-8
Texas Wesleyan
NAIA I
30-4
28-6
Xavier
NAIA I
27-7
27-6
Louisiana four-year colleges with 25-game winners in men's and women's basketball during same season
College
Season
Women's W-L
Men's W-L
Xavier
2010-11
27-7
27-6
LSU
2005-06
31-4
27-9
LSU
1999-2000
25-7
28-6
New Orleans
1986-87
25-7
26-4
LSU
1985-86
27-6
26-12
Louisiana Tech
1984-85
29-4
29-3
Louisiana Tech
1983-84
30-3
26-7
Four-year HBCUs with 25-game winners in men's and women's basketball during same season
