LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — Xavier University of Louisiana's Mariia Borodii and Charlene Goreau ended a Georgia Gwinnett women's tennis streak Friday in the Grizzly Invitational.
     Victories by Borodii and Goreau marked the first time in 61 dual matches that the Grizzlies lost the No. 1 and No. 2 singles matches. Borodii beat Emerald Able 6-2, 6-2 at the top spot, and Goreau defeated Henar Munoz 7-6 (7-4), 6-4. The ITA ranks Able third and Munoz 10th among NAIA singles players. Goreau is 23rd, and Borodii — who enrolled at XULA in January — is unranked.
     Borodi and Goreau were the brightest spots for XULA, whose 13th ranked women lost 7-2 to Gwinnett and whose second-ranked men lost 9-0 to the Grizzlies. Both Gwinnett teams are No. 1 in the NAIA and are multiple-defending national champions — two straight years for the women, four years for the men.
     "Today was a tough match for us, and Mariia battled through an injury to win," XULA coach Alan Green said. "She is super tough and is such a fighter. I was really happy to see Charlene close out her match. The team didn't get the win, but Charlene needed that for herself, and it will pay off for us down the road."
     Georgia Gwinnett's men are 6-0 and have won 61 consecutive dual matches. Its women are 2-0 and have won 36 straight. The Gold Rush — the NAIA national runner-up in 2016 and 2017 — are 1-5, and the Gold Nuggets are 1-6.
     Both XULA teams will return to the Grizzly Invitational Sunday. On Saturday the Nuggets will visit NAIA No. 20 Brenau in Gainesville, Ga., at 10 a.m. EST, and the Rush will visit NCAA Division III No. 1 Emory in Atlanta at 3 p.m. EST.