Results
•
Video of No. 3 doubles match
MOBILE, Ala. — 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 sixth 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."
