Results:  Men   •   Women

     LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — Xavier University of Louisiana's tennis teams discovered that Saturday night was alright for fighting . . . back from large deficits.
     Both the second-ranked Gold Rush and the 19th-ranked Gold Nuggets rallied from 4-2 deficits to defeat top-10 teams. At the Grizzly Invitational, the XULA women got singles victories from Lacee Ancar, Brandi Nelson and Sha'Nel Bruins to beat NAIA No. 7 Indiana Wesleyan 5-4. About 35 miles away in Atlanta, the Gold Rush got singles victories from Catalin Fifea, Tushar Mandlekar and Pierre Andrieu in a 5-4 comeback victory against Emory, ranked second in NCAA Division III.
     It was a late and draining night for both XULA teams. The Gold Rush played indoors at Emory, but only four courts were available. Their dual started at 5:45 p.m. EST, 15 minutes sooner than scheduled, and concluded at 11:42 when Andrieu defeated Harry Shepherd 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-3 at No. 6. The Grizzly Invitational was delayed because of rain, and the Gold Nuggets' dual did not begin until 8:24 p.m., nearly 3 1/2 hours later than scheduled. The Nuggets finally got off the court at 1:29 a.m. Sunday when Bruins clinched at No. 5 in her 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 victory against Olivia Reed.
     "The day was unbelievable," 14th-year XULA coach Alan Green said. "It was probably the best day of tennis in Xavier history. The guys had an amazing comeback, and the girls came from behind and a beat a top-10 team finishing after 1 a.m. (Assistant coach) Loic (Didavi) and (student assistant) Kevin (Chaouat) did an amazing job with the guys, and it was a total team effort from everyone."
     Green spent time at both sites, departing Emory after men's doubles to coach the Gold Nuggets through the end of doubles and all their singles matches.
     Ancar, who won in doubles and singles, started the Nuggets' comeback with a 6-0, 7-5 victory against Marissa Klein. Nelson tied the dual by beating Lizzie Bauss 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.
     Like Andrieu, Fifea and Mandlekar won after losing first sets. Fifea defeated Adrien Bouchet 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4), and Mandlekar beat Alec Josepher 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
     The Emory dual was not part of the Grizzly Invitational. Both XULA teams will play their final matches in that event at 11 a.m. EST Sunday against host Georgia Gwinnett. Both those opponents are No. 1 in the NAIA and defending national champions. The men's dual will be rematch of the 2016 national final, which the Grizzlies won 5-2. Because of XULA's late finish, the Sunday starting time was pushed back one hour.