XULA sweeps GCAC weekly awards in track and field

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana swept the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week awards in track and field for March 19-25. The winners are:

     •  Women's field — Tamia Scott.
     •  Women's track — The 400-meter relay team of Martina Latting, Alexis Milton, Justyce Riggs and Ry-Anne Riley.
     •  Men's field — Edward Angel.
     
There were no nominees in men's track.
     
Scott, a sophomore from Lafayette, La., and a graduate of Carencro High School, finished seventh in the javelin at the Rice Victor Lopez Classic in Houston with a season-best 34.28 meters/112 feet, 5 inches. She finished ahead of seven NCAA Division I athletes.
     
The relay team produced the program's second-fastest time ever, 46.86 seconds, and placed fifth. It was the fourth time in as many meets this season that the team produced an A-qualifying mark for the NAIA National Championships. Latting and Milton are juniors from Opelousas, La., and graduates of Westminster Christian Academy. Riggs is a sophomore from Fort Walton Beach, Fla., and a graduate of Choctawhatchee High School, and Riley is a sophomore from New Orleans and a graduate of Lusher Charter School.
     
Angel, a freshman from the Houston suburb of Fulshear, Texas, and a graduate of Seven Lakes High School, high-jumped a season-best 2.07 meters/6 feet, 9 1/2 inches to place third and beat seven NCAA DI athletes. Angel already had met the NAIA A-qualifying standard.
     
XULA will travel to Alabama Friday for the University of Mobile Invitational. Field events will start at 9:30 a.m., and track events will start at 11 a.m.
     
NOTES:  XULA has the NAIA's fastest women's 400 relay time this season, according to the Track & Field Results Reporting System. Latting, Milton, Riggs and Riley ran a school-record 46.66 at the Louisiana Classics meet in Lafayette March 17 . . . Angel is No. 2 on the 2018 NAIA high jump list.

XULA's 2018 GCAC Track and Field Players of the Week
Feb. 26-March 4
Men's Field — Edward Angel
Women's Field — Calah Williams
Women's Track — 400 Relay Team of Raven Davis, Alexis Milton, Justyce Riggs, Ry-Anne Riley

March 5-11
Men's Field — Edward Angel
Women's Field — Alysia Terry
Women's Track — 400 Relay Team of Martina Latting, Alexis Milton, Justyce Riggs, Ry-Anne Riley

March 12-18
Men's Field — Brandon Matthews
Women's Track — 400 Relay Team of Martina Latting, Alexis Milton, Justyce Riggs, Ry-Anne Riley

March 19-25
Men's Field — Edward Angel
Women's Field — Tamia Scott
Women's Track — 400 Relay Team of Martina Latting, Alexis Milton, Justyce Riggs, Ry-Anne Riley

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Goreau, Abdullah collect GCAC awards again

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana tennis standouts Charlene Goreauand Shaikh Abdullah are Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Players of the Week for March 19-25.
     
Goreau, a junior from Toulouse, France, won for the fifth time this season and the 13th time overall to extend her GCAC career record. Abdullah, a freshman from Hyderabad, India, won for the second time.
     
Goreau won in doubles (with Angela Charles-Alfred) and singles in the Gold Nuggets' 7-2 home victory against NAIA No. 11 LSU-Alexandria. Goreau and Charles-Alfred defeated Ariadna Cabezas and Claudia van den Brink 8-3, then Goreau beat Miljana Milojevic 6-0, 6-2 to continiue her recent dominance in singles.
     
Goreau is unbeaten in singles since Feb. 10. Her current singles win streak is nine. In her last eight singles matches — seven victories and one unfinished — Goreau won 94-of-102 games. Eight of her completed 15 sets during that time were by 6-0.
     
Abdullah was the only Gold Rush player to win in doubles and singles in a 5-4 home loss to NCAA Division I Abilene Christian, the Southland Conference leader. Abdullah and Antoine Richard defeated Josh Sheehy and Paul Domanski 8-5, then Abdullah beat Niko Moceanu 6-2, 6-3.
     
Both XULA teams will return to the courts late next week — at home against NCAA DI opponents. The Gold Nuggets, ranked fifth in the NAIA, will play Southern at 3 p.m. April 6, and the second-ranked Gold Rush will play Troy at 9 a.m. April 7.

XULA's 2018 GCAC Tennis Players of the Week
Women
Jan. 22-28 — Charlene Goreau
Jan. 29-Feb. 4 — Charlene Goreau
Feb. 5-11 — Mariia Borodii
Feb. 12-18 — Mariia Borodii
Feb. 19-25 — Charlene Goreau
Feb. 26-March 4 — Charlene Goreau
March 5-11 — Mariia Borodii
March 12-18 — Mariia Borodii
March 19-25 — Charlene Goreau

Men
Jan. 15-21 — Pierre Andrieu
Jan. 22-28 — Samir Chikhaoui
Jan. 29-Feb. 4 — Catalin Fifea
Feb. 12-18 — Shaikh Abdullah
Feb. 19-25 — Samir Chikhaoui
Feb. 26-March 4 — Catalin Fifea
March 12-18 — Samir Chikhaoui
March 19-25 — Shaikh Abdullah

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Nuggets remain No. 5, but there's a change at the top

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana, 2-0 since the previous NAIA women's tennis coaches poll, maintained its No. 5 position Tuesday in the fifth national ranking of the season. But there was a significant shift at the top.
     
Keiser earned its first-ever No. 1 ranking as a result of its 5-4 Saturday victory at the previous No. 1, Georgia Gwinnett. The Grizzlies had been atop the last 16 polls, the last 14 as a unanimous No. 1.
     
Keiser received 12-of-14 first-place votes. Georgia Gwinnett, now No. 2, and No. 3 Lindsey Wilson received one first-place vote apiece.
     
The Gold Nuggets (11-7) improved their win streak to eight, their longest since 2013, with a 7-2 Saturday home victory against LSU-Alexandria, which remained 11th. The XULA women have eight victories this season against top-20 NAIA opponents.
     
XULA is idle this week. The Gold Nuggets will begin a three-dual home stand April 6 — one week from Friday — at 3 p.m. against NCAA Division I Southern.
 

NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records through March 25)

RANK	PREVIOUS	SCHOOL		RECORD	POINTS
1	3	Keiser (Fla.) [12]		17-1	373
2	1	Georgia Gwinnett [1]		11-2	361
3	2	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) [1]		2-1	348
4	4	SCAD Savannah (Ga.)		9-2	336
5	5	Xavier (La.)		11-7	331
6	6	William Carey (Miss.)		6-1	314
7	8	William Woods (Mo.)		7-3	291
8	7	Northwestern Ohio		4-3	290
9	9	Indiana Wesleyan		23-2	276
10	10	Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)		5-5	275
11	11	LSU-Alexandria (La.)		6-3	251
12	12	San Diego Christian (Calif.)		6-5	247
13	13	Middle Georgia State		9-4	229
14	16	Brenau (Ga.)		7-6	220
15	15	Westmont (Calif.)		7-5	202
16	14	SCAD Atlanta (Ga.)		6-4	192
17	18	Arizona Christian		9-8	182
18	17	Campbellsville (Ky.)		9-1	178
19	20	Cumberland (Tenn.)		6-7	155
20	19	Martin Methodist (Tenn.)		3-7	148
21	22	Union (Ky.)		7-3	132
22	21	Mobile (Ala.)		8-5	129
23	23	St. Thomas (Fla.)		5-6	106
24	24	Reinhardt (Ga.)		7-5	100
25	25	Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)		5-4	74

Others Receiving Votes: Georgetown (Ky.) 57; Huntington (Ind.) 48; Marian (Ind.) 28; Southwestern (Kan.) 24; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 21; Tennessee Wesleyan 15; Loyola (La.) 13; Cumberlands (Ky.) 13; Coastal Georgia 12; Asbury (Ky.) 9

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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No. 3 Keiser defeats No. 2 Gold Rush 6-3

ORLANDO, Florida — It had been nearly three years since Xavier University of Louisiana men's tennis lost to a ranked NAIA opponent other than Georgia Gwinnett. But it happened Tuesday when third-ranked Keiser beat the No. 2 Gold Rush 6-3 at the USTA National Campus courts.
     
The Seahawks (12-4) trailed 2-1 after doubles, then won 5-of-6 singles matches. Nicolas Guerschanik clinched with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory against Antoine Richard on the second court.
     
XULA (8-8) got its points from Samir Chikhaoui, a 6-3, 6-3 winner against Adrian Frutos at No. 3 singles, and from its top two doubles teams, Shaikh Abdullah and Richard at No. 1 and Pierre An
drieu and Chris Anders at No. 2.
     
Abdullah and Richard defeated Guerschanik and Marc Algeri 8-6, and Andrieu and Anders beat Vicente Lagos and Arthur Bonnaud — the ITA's 11th-ranked tandem — 9-8 (7-5).
     
The Gold Rush had not lost to a ranked NAIA opponent not named Georgia Gwinnett since May 14, 2015, when Vanguard won 5-4 in the quarterfinals of the national tournament at Mobile, Ala. Between then and Tuesday XULA rattled off 16 straight wins against that group, including decisions against sixth-ranked Keiser in the 2016 quarterfinals and third-ranked Keiser in the 2017 semifinals.

Results    

XULA won 5-4 Monday at Embry-Riddle, the first-ever Gold Rush victory against a top-10 team from NCAA Division II. Keiser lost 6-3 at Embry-Riddle March 14.
     
Earlier Tuesday the NAIA announced its fifth coaches poll of 2018. XULA was No. 2, and Keiser was No. 3. The next team rankings will be revealed April 10.
    
Next for the Gold Rush will be a 9 a.m. dual match April 7 — one week from Saturday — against NCAA Division I member Troy at XULA Tennis Center.
 

NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records through March 25)

RANK	PREVIOUS	SCHOOL	RECORD	POINTS
1	1	Georgia Gwinnett [14]	21-0	374
2	2	Xavier (La.)	7-7	362
3	3	Keiser (Fla.)	11-4	350
4	6	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	4-0	334
5	5	Northwestern Ohio	4-3	327
6	7	William Woods (Mo.)	6-5	306
7	8	Mobile (Ala.)	15-1	298
8	16	Cumberland (Tenn.)	11-1	288
9	9	Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)	7-3	283
10	10	Arizona Christian	13-6	256
11	4	Campbellsville (Ky.)	8-2	251
12	11	Middle Georgia State	9-3	249
13	12	William Carey (Miss.)	6-2	232
14	13	San Diego Christian (Calif.)	6-5	229
15	15	Reinhardt (Ga.)	8-2	201
16	14	Westmont (Calif.)	5-5	200
17	17	Asbury (Ky.)	7-1	174
18	17	Coastal Georgia	8-6	162
19	22	Union (Ky.)	7-3	158
20	20	Lawrence Tech (Mich.)	13-3	143
21	19	Tennessee Wesleyan	6-3	131
22	21	McPherson (Kan.)	4-3	120
23	23	Indiana Wesleyan	23-4	110
24	24	St. Thomas (Fla.)	5-5	90
25	25	Point (Ga.)	12-4	85

Others Receiving Votes: Texas A&M-Texarkana 62; Aquinas (Mich.) 36; Cumberlands (Ky.) 32; Bethany (Kan.) 32; Loyola (La.) 25; Judson (Ill.) 18; Missouri Valley 12; Marian (Ind.) 11; Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) 5; Hastings (Neb.) 4; Hope International (Calif.) 3; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 3

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Gold Rush rally past D2 No. 8 Embry-Riddle on road

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida  — Xavier University of Louisiana men's tennis earned its first-ever victory against a top-10 NCAA Division II opponent when it rallied for a 5-4 victory Monday against Embry-Riddle.
     
The Gold Rush (8-7), ranked second in the NAIA, trailed 4-2, then got singles victories from Pierre Andrieu, Samir Chikhaoui and Antoine Richard. Richard, playing singles for the first time this season, clinched with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory against Andres Donayre on the second court.
     
The Eagles, ranked eighth, are 9-4.
     
"Outstanding win. Our guys played big," XULA coach Alan Green said. "They fought to the end and never gave up."
     
Andrieu defeated Mickael Faucher 6-2, 0-6, 6-2 on court six — it was Andrieu's sixth victory in his last seven singles decisions — and Chikhaoui beat Lucas Bos 6-2, 7-6 (7-4).
     
First off the singles court was XULA's Shaikh Abdullah, who beat Deepak Vishavkarma 6-2, 6-2 for his fourth consecutive victory.
     
Embry-Riddle won 2-of-3 doubles matches. The Eagles' Donayre and Rodolfo Arreygue, ranked third nationally, beat Abdullah and Richard 9-8 (7-4). Chikhaoui and Gabriel Niculescu defeated Vishavkarma and Faucher 9-8 (7-2) on the third court.
     
XULA will play NAIA No. 3 Keiser at 2 p.m. EDT Tuesday at a neutral site in Orlando, Fla. — the USTA National Campus courts.

Results

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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UMES names interim men's basketball coach for upcoming season

PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland -- The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Department of Athletics will not renew the contract of head basketball coach Bobby Collins.

“We thank Bobby Collins for his service to the program and the University,” Director of Athletics Keith Davidson said.

Associate Head Coach Clifford Reed will assume the role of interim head coach for the 2018-19 season and a national search to find the next leader for the basketball program will be conducted at the end of that season.

Reed — a 20-year veteran of coaching — has spent four season’s as the team’s associate head coach, seven seasons as an assistant at other college programs, 10 seasons as the head coach at Bethune-Cookman University and three as a head coach at Atlantic High School in Port Orange, Florida.

For more information on Eastern Shore Athletics visit http://www.easternshorehawks.com.

S.C. State Will Not Renew Contract of Women's Basketball Coach Doug Robertson, Jr.

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina --The South Carolina State University Department of Athletics will not renew the contract of women's head basketball coach Doug Robertson, Jr.

"We would like to thank Coach Robertson for his service to the program and the university and wish him well in all his future endeavors," Director of Athletics Stacy Danley said.

Robertson, Jr. was hired in 2008 and his teams went 112-175 overall, 61-99 MEAC during his 10 years at South Carolina State.

Assistant Coach Roderick Woods will assume the role of interim head coach and a national search to find the next leader for the women's basketball program will begin immediately.

For more information on South Carolina State Athletics visit www.scsuathletics.com or call the Office of Athletic Media Relations at (803) 536-7060.

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

ASU faces Mississippi Valley State in Turkey Day Classic

MONTGOMERY, Alabama --Alabama State is playing a SWAC opponent in the 2018 Turkey Day Classic.

Having traditionally played a non-conference opponent for that game, the Hornets will play Mississippi Valley State on Thanksgiving Day.

“It should be better attended as a more viable opponent since it is a conference game late in the season,” ASU coach Donald Hill-Eley in a news release.

Season tickets go on sale online Sunday and will be available at the ASU Stadium’s ticket office Monday. The Hornets open the 2018 season September 1 against rival Tuskegee followed by three consecutive road games against Auburn, Kennesaw State and two-time defending SWAC champion Grambling.

The Hornets, who finished 5-6 last season, play just four home games this season.

“Our work is cut out for us to start the season, it is a champions test for the first month,” said Hill-Eley as Kennesaw State (Big South) and Tuskegee (SIAC) won their respective conference title games last year while Auburn won the SEC West.

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