MOUNT BERRY, Ga. — Top-ranked and two-time defending national champion Auburn Montgomery defeated No. 24 Xavier University of Louisiana 5-0 Saturday in the semifinals of the NAIA Region XIII men's tennis tournament.
     The Senators (22-1) snapped the eight-match winning streak of the Gold Rush (15-9), which was in its first regional semifinal. Xavier, in the top 25 all season long, likely will be considered for an at-large bid to the national tournament next month at Mobile, Ala.
     AUM won all the doubles matches for a 3-0 lead, and the match was stopped after the Senators clinched with a pair of singles victories. Vusumzi Kempele, the only Xavier player to win a match in the Gold Rush's 8-1 loss at AUM on March 17, lost 6-2, 6-2 to Tim Mudrick at No. 5 singles. That ended Kempele's 12-match winning streak, and the loss was just his second in 17 matches this spring.
     Xavier's Miroslav Vukicevic was selected to the All-Region XIII men's team, and the Gold Nuggets' Dominique Bell and Anastesia Opata were chosen to the women's team. Bell made the team for the second consecutive season.
     Auburn Montgomery beat Shorter 5-0 to win its fifth consecutive Region XIII championship.