3-Star Recruit Corbin Merritt Becomes First Florida A&M Signee of the McCullum Era

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Newly named Florida A&M head men's basketball coach Robert McCullum wasted no time in getting to work on his 2017-18 roster, signing 6'9" C/F Corbin Merritt to a scholarship to continue his play as a member of the Rattler squad.

Merritt, one of the most exciting players in the Big Bend, led his Godby Cougars to a 25-2 record. Merritt's development over last season netted the Cougars the district title.

McCullum is pleased to get Merritt in orange and green. "We are elated over Corbin's decision to further his academic and basketball endeavors at Florida A&M. In addition to adding much needed frontline help to our team, Corbin's size, athleticism and skill set will enable him to be very versatile offensively and more difficult to defend in our system. We are extremely pleased to add a high school prospect with this versatility," McCullum said.

Merritt averaged 18 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots per game this season. His decision to stay home and attend school speaks volumes about FAMU.

"We anticipate his decision will resonate on a number of levels both locally and statewide. Perhaps the most impressive point about Corbin's decision is that FAMU is where he and his family wanted him to be. I'm extremely grateful for the confidence Merritt and his family have shown in me," McCullum said.

Corbin Merritt

6-9 | C/F | Tallahassee, Fla | Godby High School

• Rated a three-star by ESPN

• Rated a three-star by 247 Sports

• MVP of the Jerry Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas

• Averaged 18 pts, 11 reb, 4 blocks per game

• 1st Team All Big Bend

• 3rd Team All State

FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Rush double down, advance to 2nd straight NAIA final

Results   •   Video of No. 3 doubles match 

MOBILE, Alabama — Xavier University of Louisiana overcame deficits in all three doubles matches Friday, then got singles victories from Tushar Mandlekar and Moses Micheal to defeat Keiser 5-1 in the men's semifinals of the NAIA Tennis National Championships.

The Gold Rush (14-5), ranked and seeded second, won in the semifinals for the second consecutive year. XULA will play top-ranked and 3-time defending champion Georgia Gwinnett (22-0) for the championship at 9 a.m. Saturday at Copeland-Cox Mobile Tennis Center (851 Gaillard Drive, zip code 36608, phone 251-208-5181). Admission is free. It will be a rematch of the 2016 final, which Georgia Gwinnett won 5-2.

Prior to 2016, no XULA team in any sport had reached the championship round of an NAIA national tournament.

Micheal clinched the dual when he defeated Julian Turosienski 6-4, 6-3 on the second singles court.

XULA took a 3-0 into the singles when:

• Mandlekar and Karan Salwan overcame a 4-2 deficit and won 8-5 on the third court against nationally ranked Julian Turosienski and Romai Ugarte, who beat Salwan and Mandlekar in February.

• Catalin Fifea and Pierre Andrieu, beaten 8-1 in the quarterfinals Thursday against William Carey, also overcame a 4-2 deficit and won 9-8 (7-3) against nationally ranked Bastien Sorg and Shaquille Taylor.

• Micheal and Antoine Richard won 9-8 (7-3) against Francesco Oliva and Clement Raymond on the first court. Like Fifea and Andrieu, Micheal and Richard won the 16th game to force a tiebreaker.

"That was the toughest 5-1 match I've ever been in," said Alan Green, the most successful postseason coach in XULA history. "Our guys clamped down when we needed to and found a way to win. They did a great job competing and battling."

After Keiser (21-5), ranked and seeded third, won on the sixrh singles court, Mandlekar made it 4-1 with his 6-1, 6-3 victory against Shaquille Taylor at No. 5. Mandlekar, a senior, is the winningest Gold Rush player all-time at nationals — 8-0 in singles, 9-3 in doubles.

XULA is 0-5 all-time against Georgia Gwinnett, including a 5-0 loss Feb. 19 in GGC's Grizzly Invitational.

"Tomorrow's match has nothing to do with last year, earlier this season or today," Green said. "It'll be a totally separate event."

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Gold Rush reach NAIA semifinals by beating Crusaders

Results

MOBILE, Alabama — For the second consecutive year, Xavier University of Louisiana men's tennis is headed to the semifinals of the NAIA National Championships.

Led by seniors Karan Salwan and Tushar Mandlekar, the Gold Rush won for the second consecutive day with a 5-2 decision against regional rival William Carey.

XULA (13-5), ranked and seeded second nationally, will play third-ranked/seeded Keiser at 9 a.m. Friday at Copeland-Cox Mobile Tennis Center. The Gold Rush are 3-0 in the past 15 months against the Seahawks, including victories in the 2016 NAIA quarterfinals and Feb. 17 in the Grizzly Invitational at Lawrenceville, Ga.

Salwan and Mandlekar posted XULA's first victory with an 8-4 decision against Clement Fosse and Hugo Robuchon on the third doubles court. In singles, Salwan made it 3-1 with a 6-1, 6-2 victory against Fosse at No. 3, then Mandlekar made it 4-1 — and avenged a 3-set loss to Paul Chaubaud from last month — with a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No 5.

Catalin Fifea clinched on the fourth court with a 7-6 (7-0), 6-0 victory against Robuchon.

Also winning for XULA were Antoine Richard and Moses Micheal, who beat Chaubaud and Lucien Samitier 8-5 at No. 1 doubles.

Salwan is 4-0 after two rounds, winning twice in doubles with Mandlekar and twice in singles. Salwan was 4-3 in four tournament rounds in 2016.

Vladyslav Ladygin won twice for William Carey (16-6). Ladygin and Christian Hansson defeated Fifea and Pierre Andrieu 8-1 in 34 minutes on the second doubles court, then Ladygin — a two-time loser to Richard in the regular season at No. 1 singles — scored a 6-4, 6-2 upset against the 2017 ITA NAIA National Rookie of the Year.

The dual match lasted two hours and 39 minutes. The start was delayed 55 minutes because of rain.

XULA won for the eighth time this season against a ranked opponent and the third time in as many attempts against the Crusaders.

This will be the fifth straight year that Alan Green coaches XULA in the NAIA national semifinals. In addition to two straight appearances with the Gold Rush, he coached the XULA women in that round in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Green is the only coach in any sport to lead XULA to an NAIA semifinal.

Keiser advanced with a 5-4 victory against 2016 semifinalist Lindsey Wilson. On the other side of the bracket, Campbellsville defeated Northwestern Ohio 5-4, and three-time defending champion Georgia Gwinnett beat William Woods 5-0. Campbellsville and Georgia Gwinnett also will play at 9 a.m. Friday. The championship will start at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Rush reach NAIA quarterfinals for 6th straight year

Results

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana scored two comeback victories in doubles Wednesday during a 5-0 men's tennis decision against SCAD Savannah in the round of the 16 of the NAIA National Championships.

The Gold Rush (12-5), ranked and seeded second, reached the quarterfinals for the sixth consecutive year.

The XULA men will play sixth-ranked/seventh-seeded William Carey in the quarterfinals at 9 a.m. Thursday.

XULA trailed 5-3 on the second and third courts before completing a sweep of the doubles matches. Karan Salwan and Tushar Mandlekar defeated Quentin Staley - Joshua Tewes-McCoy 8-5 at No. 3, and Catalin Fifea-Pierre Andrieu beat Daiki Naka-Yulin Liu 9-8 (7-2) at No. 2.

XULA is 6-0 in doubles tiebreakers in dual matches this year.

Salwan was the only Gold Rush player to win twice. He gave XULA a 4-0 lead in the dual when he defeated Liu 6-3, 6-1 on the third singles court. Last-minute replacement Adam Albrecht ended the dual with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Mateo Fernandez — Albrecht's first singles victory in two months. The Gold Rush led in three of the four uncompleted matches.

Antoine Richard and Moses Micheal, the ITA's sixth-ranked NAIA doubles team, put the Rush in the lead when they defeated Sean Hajdu and Fernandez 8-1 on the first court.

SCAD Savannah (9-9) made its first appearance at nationals since 2009.

The XULA men will meet William Carey at nationals for the first time but the third time this season. The Gold Rush won 7-2 at Hattiesburg, Miss., March 3 and by the same score April 13 at XULA.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Nuggets barely miss mark in 5-4 NAIA loss to Wildcats

Results

MOBILE, Alabama— Oodles of opportunities, oodles of disappointment. That could summarize Xavier University of Louisiana's 5-4 women's tennis loss Wednesday to Indiana Wesleyan in the round of 16 of the NAIA National Championships.

The Gold Nuggets (7-14), ranked and seeded seventh, built a 4-2 lead before the Wildcats (37-8), ranked and seeded 10th, won three consecutive 3-set singles matches after dropping the first set in all three. The clincher was Thewuni Devaraja's 6-7 (9-11), 6-4, 6-3 victory against Yi Chen Pao in a matchup of two freshmen on the sixth court.

Indiana Wesleyan also rallied in doubles. Alex Mella and Lizzie Bauss, the ITA's 14th-ranked NAIA tandem, defeated Charlene Goreau and Emma Kranendonk 8-6 after trailing 6-3.
The Wildcats' victory, their first in four dual matches against the Gold Nuggets, was nearly three months to the day since losing 5-4 to XULA in the Grizzly Invitational at Lawrenceville, Ga., after holding a 4-2 advantage.

Nevertheless, Brandi Nelson — one of three seniors competing for XULA for the last time — Lacee Ancar and Goreau produced some notable performances.

Nelson and Ancar won in doubles and singles. They teamed for an 8-3 victory against Olivia Reed and Ellen Hornett. Nelson then beat 44th-ranked Bauss 6-4, 6-2 to equal Nour Abbes' Gold Nuggets record of 10 matches won at NAIA nationals. Beginning with the 2015 round of 16, Nelson won nine of her final 10 matches.

Ancar beat Marissa Klein 6-4, 6-3 to become the fourth Nuggets freshman to win in doubles and singles in an NAIA tourney debut. The others who accomplished that were Dominique Bell in 2004, Marian Lang in 2009 and Abbes in 2014.

Goreau, ranked 34th in singles, improved to 2-0 this season against 19th-ranked Rachel Bottorff with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory.

The other XULA seniors in their collegiate farewells were Kranendonk, Sha'Nel Bruins and Dasia Harris. Nelson and Bruins received bachelor's degrees from XULA this past weekend; Harris was not in the lineup against IWU.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Green, Richard, Chaouat win ITA season awards

MOBILE, Ala. — Xavier University of Louisiana's Alan Green and Antoine Richard were double-winners Monday when the Intercollegiate Tennis Association presented its 2016-17 awards during a banquet for teams competing in the NAIA National Championships.

Green, in his 14th season at XULA, was named men's Region IV (South) and National Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. Richard, a freshman from Laval, Quebec, received men's Region IV and National Rookie of the Year.

Also honored was XULA's Kevin Chaouat, the men's Region IV Assistant Coach of the Year.

Green's Gold Rush have been No. 2 in every coaches poll this season despite losing two All-Americans from last year's national runner-up team. This is Green's third ITA national coaching honor; he won the women's award in 2013. This is the fourth time in six years that Green won men's Region IV Coach of the Year.

Richard, the NAIA's highest-ranked freshman this season in singles (fourth) and doubles (sixth with Moses Micheal), picked up his second award in three days. He was named first-team All-Louisiana Saturday.

Chaouat, from Sarcelles, France, joined the coaching staff as a student assistant after a 3-year XULA playing career that he capped with an ITA All-America award a year ago. It's the second straight year that the Gold Rush won this regional coaching honor — Loic Didavi did it in 2016.

Receiving NAIA Champions of Character awards were Sha'Nel Bruins of the Gold Nuggets and Karan Salwan of the Gold Rush. Bruins was cited for the second consecutive year.

The NAIA's national tournament will open Tuesday at Copeland-Cox Mobile Tennis Center. Both XULA teams have first-round byes and will play in the round of 16 Wednesday. The Gold Rush will meet Reinhardt or SCAD Savannah at 9 a.m., and the Gold Nuggets will face Indiana Wesleyan or Asbury at 1 p.m. Admission is free.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Texas Southern advances to SWAC championship game for third straight year

NEW ORLEANS -- Texas Southern became the first team to clinch a berth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game with an 11-2 win over Jackson State on Friday.

The win allows Texas Southern to take a much-needed day off Saturday before taking the field Sunday for a chance to earn the SWAC's automatic bid to the NCAA regionals.

“It’s just a testament of everything we did during the season,” Texas Southern coach Ehren Moreno said. “We just tried to build up a good body of work. You talk about everything we’ve done this season — we lost 12 games by one run, and then we come out here and play really good ball.”

Friday marked the second time this week Texas Southern overcame Jackson State, but the games couldn’t have been more different.

On Thursday, JSU mounted an impressive comeback to force extra innings, and Texas Southern won with a game-winning three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th.

But on Friday, in what was an elimination game for Jackson State, TSU was in command from start to finish, scoring four runs in the ninth to seal the game.

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