NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana is one of two schools with an NAIA-leading three women's singles players in the top 20 of the Oracle Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings announced Thursday.
The Gold Nuggets' Charlene Goreau is No. 3, with teammates Mariia Borodii sixth and Angela Charles-Alfred 19th. Goreau climbed three places to reach her highest-ever singles ranking, and Charles-Alfred climbed six places.
In women's doubles, Goreau and Charles-Alfred are ranked fourth, and Borodii and Yi Chen Pao are ninth.
The XULA men also have a presence in the national top 10, with Santiago Perez second in singles and Perez and Shaikh Abdullah sixth in doubles..
In the South Region rankings, Goreau, Borodii and Charles-Alfred are 3-6-11 in women's singles, and Perez is second in men's singles. Goreau and Charles-Alfred are third in doubles, and Pao and Borodii are fifth. Perez and Abdullah are fourth in doubles.
Three-time defending NAIA national champion Georgia Gwinnett also has three women in the top 20 of singles, including Madeline Bosnjak and Emerald Able at 1-2.
XULA's women (15-4, ranked third in the NAIA) and men (13-6, ranked seventh) are idle until next Thursday, when they visit Mobile at noon. Mobile's women are ranked 11th, and its men are 15th.
Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications
Department of Athletics & Recreation
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAgold.com
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold
NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's women climbed from 18th to 13th Wednesday in the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings compiled by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Rankings are based only on performances during the 2019 outdoor season and the number of athletes a school has near the top of the descending order list in the various events and how highly they are ranked.
The XULA women have seven top-10 NAIA national event rankings:
• The 1,600-meter relay team of Shalysa Wray, Alexis Williams, Ariel Ford and Raven Riley, second in 3 minutes, 53.20 seconds.
• The 400-meter relay team of Alexis Milton, Justyce Riggs, Raven Davis and Wray, third in a school-record 46.23 seconds.
• Wray (school-record 55.27) and Ford (56.96), 4-10 in the 400.
• Wray (11.87) and Milton (11.94), 6-9 in the 100.
• Wray (24.81), 10th in the 200.
The USTFCCCA ranks 138 women's teams and 144 men's teams. Among Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's teams, SUNO is fourth, Edward Waters is 48th, and Dillard is 116th. Among GCAC men's teams, SUNO is 21st, Edward Waters is 53rd, Dillard is 62nd, and XULA is 86th.
The Gold Rush's highest ranked event is the triple jump, where Brandon Matthews is 13th with 14.40 meters (47 feet, 3 inches).
Next for XULA will be the GCAC Championships, a two-day meet starting Wednesday at Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans.
NAIA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Team Rankings
1. British Columbia
2. Concordia (Neb.)
3. Wayland Baptist
4. SUNO
5. Indiana Tech
6. MidAmerica Nazarene
7. Westmont
8. Doane
9. William Carey
10. Oregon Tech
11. Hastings
12. Siena Heights
13. XULA
14. Southern Oregon
15. Friends
16. Olivet Nazarene
17. College of Idaho
18. Cornerstone
19. Vanguard
20. Dakota Wesleyan
21. Southeastern (Fla.)
22. Lindsey Wilson
23. Oklahoma City
24. Eastern Oregon
25. Lewis-Clark State
Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications
Department of Athletics & Recreation
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAgold.com
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold
