MOBILE, Ala. — Freshman Shaikh Abdullah defeated Hugo Robuchon 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 Friday to lift fourth-seeded Xavier University of Louisiana to a 5-3 men's tennis victory against fifth-seeded William Carey in the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Championships.
     The Gold Rush (13-11) reached the semifinals for the third straight year. XULA was to meet top-seeded Georgia Gwinnett, the four-time defending champion, at 9 p.m. Friday. The final will start at 1 p.m. Saturday.
     Georgia Gwinnett beat XULA in the 2016 and 2017 finals.
     Abdullah and Antoine Richard both won twice. The Gold Rush swept the doubles, including an 8-6 victory on the second court by Catalin Fifea and Chris Anders. Fifea and Anders rallied from a 5-4 deficit.
     Coupled with the XULA women's 5-0 victory Thursday against LSU-Alexandria, it's the first time that both XULA teams reached the semifinals in the same season. Alan Green will coach a team in the semifinals for the sixth consecutive year.