NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana dropped a collective 21 games out of 193 Friday and opened the spring 2015 portion of its men's and women's tennis schedules with 9-0 victories against city rival Loyola at XU Tennis Center.
The Gold Nuggets are ranked third in the NAIA, and the Gold Rush are eighth.
Xavier did not lose a game in 7-of-16 matches. The Gold Nuggets won 6-0, 6-0 in 4-of-5 contested singles matches. Loyola defaulted two women's matches because it had five available players.
Winning 6-0, 6-0 in singles for the Gold Nuggets were Carmen Nelson, Brion Flowers, Sha'Nel Bruins and Dasia Harris. Tushar Mandlekar won by the same score for the Gold Rush. Flowers and Bruins won 8-0 in doubles, as did Kyle Montrel and Jordan Harrell in men's doubles.
Montrel clinched the men's dual with a 6-0, 6-1 victory against Trivesh Singh at No. 1 singles. Nelson's shutout of Alexa Mancuso clinched the women's dual.
Nour Abbes, the NAIA's top-ranked women's singles player, defeated Meghan de Baroncelli 6-1, 6-1. Abbes, a sophomore, is 31-1 in singles at Xavier. Abbes and Nelson beat Baroncelli and Mancuso 8-2 in doubles.
Harris, a redshirt freshman, competed in a collegiate dual match for the first time. So did first-year freshman Jeremiah Capdeville, who dropped the first three games against Anthony Zaleski but rallied for a 6-3, 6-1 victory at No. 6 men's singles.
"It felt good to get the season started again," 12th-year XU coach Alan Green said. "Everyone was feeling good today, and we showed it with some efficient victories. It will be a long season, and hopefully we can learn something from each match and improve each time we get on the court."
Both Loyola teams are 0-2.
In six seasons of competition against Loyola, Xavier has lost just two matches on the court — none since 2011.
The Gold Nuggets will play another city rival, Tulane (3-0), at 2 p.m. Saturday at City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center. The next Gold Rush dual will start at 6 p.m. Friday at Louisiana-Lafayette.
Men's Tennis Results
Xavier 9, Loyola 0Friday, January 30, 2015
XU Tennis Center, New Orleans, La.
Weather: Clear, 57 degrees, wind N at 5 mph, humidity 41 percentXavier victories highlightedDoublesNo. 1 — Nikita Soifer-Tushar Mandlekar (XU) d. Federico Mercado-David Mayhall (LU) 8-3.No. 2 — Kevin Chaouat-Adam Albrecht (XU) d. Ernesto de Diego-Ricardo Mercado (LU) 8-3.No. 3 — Kyle Montrel-Jordan Harrell (XU) d. Anthony Zaleski-Trivesh Singh (LU) 8-0.SinglesNo. 1 — Kyle Montrel (XU) d. Trivesh Singh (LU) 6-0, 6-1.No. 2 — Nikita Soifer (XU) d. Federico Mercado (LU) 6-0, 6-1.No. 3 — Tushar Mandlekar (XU) d. Ernesto de Diego (LU) 6-0, 6-0.No. 4 — Jordan Harrell (XU) d. David Mayhall (LU) 6-0, 6-1.No. 5 — Adam Albrecht (XU) d. Ricardo Mercado (LU) 6-2, 6-2.No. 6 — Jeremiah Capdeville (XU) d. Anthony Zaleski (LU) 6-3, 6-1.Order of Finish: Doubles — 3, 2, 1. Singles — 4, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6.
Records: Xavier 1-0, Loyola 0-2.
Women's Tennis Results
Xavier 9, Loyola 0Friday, January 30, 2015
XU Tennis Center, New Orleans, La.
Weather: Clear, 57 degrees, wind N at 5 mph, humidity 41 percentXavier victories highlightedDoublesNo. 1 — Nour Abbes-Carmen Nelson (XU) d. Meghan de Baroncelli-Alexa Mancuso (LU) 8-2.No. 2 — Brion Flowers-Sha'Nel Bruins (XU) d. Lauren Rosales-Madeline Smith (LU) 8-0.No. 3 — Dasia Harris-Brandi Nelson (XU) won by default.SinglesNo. 1 — Nour Abbes (XU) d. Meghan de Baroncelli (LU) 6-1, 6-1.No. 2 — Carmen Nelson (XU) d. Alexa Mancuso (LU) 6-0, 6-0.No. 3 — Brion Flowers (XU) d. Lauren Rosales (LU) 6-0, 6-0.No. 4 — Sha'Nel Bruins (XU) d. Madeline Smith (LU) 6-0, 6-0.No. 5 — Dasia Harris (XU) d. Wesley Dejoie (LU) 6-0, 6-0.No. 6 — Brandi Nelson (XU) won by default.Order of Finish: Doubles — 3, 2, 1. Singles — 6, 2, 4, 1, 3, 5.
Records: Xavier 1-0, Loyola 0-2.
