Results
ORLANDO, Fla. — It had been nearly three years
since Xavier University of Louisiana men's tennis lost to a ranked NAIA
opponent other than Georgia Gwinnett. But it happened Tuesday when third-ranked
Keiser beat the No. 2 Gold Rush 6-3 at the USTA National Campus courts.
The Sewhawks (12-4) trailed 2-1 after doubles, then won 5-of-6 singles matches. Nicolas Guerschanik clinched with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory against
Antoine Richard on the second court.
XULA (8-8) got its points from
Samir Chikhaoui, a 6-3, 6-3 winner against Adrian Frutos at No. 3 singles, and from its top two doubles teams,
Shaikh Abdullah and Richard at No. 1 and
Pierre Andrieu and
Chris Anders at No. 2.
Abdullah and Richard defeated Guerschanik and Marc Algeri 8-6, and Andrieu and Anders beat Vicente Lagos and Arthur Bonnaud — the ITA's 11th-ranked tandem — 9-8 (7-5).
The Gold Rush had not lost to a ranked NAIA opponent not named Georgia Gwinnett since May 14, 2015, when Vanguard won 5-4 in the quarterfinals of the national tournament at Mobile, Ala. Between then and Tuesday XULA rattled off 16 straight wins against that group, including decisions against sixth-ranked Keiser in the 2016 quarterfinals and third-ranked Keiser in the 2017 semifinals.
XULA won 5-4 Monday at Embry-Riddle, the first-ever Gold Rush victory against a top-10 team from NCAA Division II. Keiser lost 6-3 at Embry-Riddle March 14.
Earlier Tuesday the NAIA announced its fifth coaches poll of 2018. XULA was No. 2, and Keiser was No. 3. The next team rankings will be revealed April 10.
Next for the Gold Rush will be a 9 a.m. dual match April 7 — one week from Saturday — against NCAA Division I member Troy at XULA Tennis Center.
NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through March 25) |
| RANK |
PREVIOUS |
SCHOOL |
RECORD |
POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Georgia Gwinnett [14] |
21-0 |
374 |
| 2 |
2 |
Xavier (La.) |
7-7 |
362 |
| 3 |
3 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
11-4 |
350 |
| 4 |
6 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
4-0 |
334 |
| 5 |
5 |
Northwestern Ohio |
4-3 |
327 |
| 6 |
7 |
William Woods (Mo.) |
6-5 |
306 |
| 7 |
8 |
Mobile (Ala.) |
15-1 |
298 |
| 8 |
16 |
Cumberland (Tenn.) |
11-1 |
288 |
| 9 |
9 |
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) |
7-3 |
283 |
| 10 |
10 |
Arizona Christian |
13-6 |
256 |
| 11 |
4 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
8-2 |
251 |
| 12 |
11 |
Middle Georgia State |
9-3 |
249 |
| 13 |
12 |
William Carey (Miss.) |
6-2 |
232 |
| 14 |
13 |
San Diego Christian (Calif.) |
6-5 |
229 |
| 15 |
15 |
Reinhardt (Ga.) |
8-2 |
201 |
| 16 |
14 |
Westmont (Calif.) |
5-5 |
200 |
| 17 |
17 |
Asbury (Ky.) |
7-1 |
174 |
| 18 |
17 |
Coastal Georgia |
8-6 |
162 |
| 19 |
22 |
Union (Ky.) |
7-3 |
158 |
| 20 |
20 |
Lawrence Tech (Mich.) |
13-3 |
143 |
| 21 |
19 |
Tennessee Wesleyan |
6-3 |
131 |
| 22 |
21 |
McPherson (Kan.) |
4-3 |
120 |
| 23 |
23 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
23-4 |
110 |
| 24 |
24 |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
5-5 |
90 |
| 25 |
25 |
Point (Ga.) |
12-4 |
85 |
|
Others Receiving Votes: Texas A&M-Texarkana 62; Aquinas (Mich.) 36; Cumberlands (Ky.) 32; Bethany (Kan.) 32; Loyola (La.) 25; Judson (Ill.) 18; Missouri Valley 12; Marian (Ind.) 11; Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) 5; Hastings (Neb.) 4; Hope International (Calif.) 3; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 3
