Results

     NEW ORLEANS — Farah Baklouti, Mariia Borodii and Charlene Goreau rallied Xavier University of Louisiana in a 4-3 women's tennis victory Sunday against Texas State.
     It was the first dual match of 2019 for the Gold Nuggets, ranked third in the NAIA and a national semifinalist last season. The Bobcats, a member of NCAA Division I and the Sun Belt Conference, are 2-1.
     XULA trailed 3-1 after losing on the third, fifth and sixth singles courts. But the Gold Nuggets stormed back when Baklouti defeated Josefina Cassara 6-1, 6-4, Borodii beat Ana Perez 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, then Goreau clinched with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 decision against Rishona Israel-Lewis.
     Borodii tied the dual with her victory, and Goreau ended it less than 15 seconds later.
     "It was a tough match for me," said Goreau, a three-time NAIA All-American who trailed 6-5 in the first set and 4-3 in the second. "All I could think about was fighting and never giving up."
     Borodii, the ITA/NAIA National Rookie of the Year last season, improved to 16-0 all-time in dual-match singles competition.
     "My opponent was really, really tough," Borodii said, "and it had been such a long time since I competed (Oct. 14). It felt like I forgot how to compete. I just had to stay focused. I will be stronger, harder and better next time."
     XULA won the doubles point. Yi Chen Pao and Angela Charles-Alfred defeated Julia Navajo-Melendez and Andrea Fuchs 6-2, then Borodii and Baklouti won 6-4 against Perez and Joy Chia Ming Ming.
     For XULA's women it was the:
     •  37th victory against an NCAA Division I opponent during Alan Green's 16 seasons as head coach.
     •  Third straight victory against a DI dating to last season — the Gold Nuggets' longest win streak against DIs since 2008.
     •  First victory in an opener against a DI since 2007.
     •  First victory against a non-HBCU DI member since 2014 and the second since 2004.
     •  The first of six dual matches this season against DIs.
     "This match was very tough, especially for an opener," Green said. "Our women played some inspired tennis, which was great to see. I'm proud of the way we fought throughout this match. It was a total team effort."
     Next for XULA's women and men will be a trip to Mobile, Ala., to play DI South Alabama at noon Saturday. It will be the first dual match of the season for the XULA men.

2019 XULA Tennis Schedule
Team(s)	Date(s)	Opponent	Site	Time(s)
Women	Jan. 27 (Sun.)	TEXAS STATE (won 4-3)	XULA TENNIS CENTER	10 a.m.
Both	Feb. 2 (Sat.)	at South Alabama	Mobile, Ala.	Noon
Women	Feb. 9 (Sat.)	at New Orleans	New Orleans, La.	4 p.m.
Both	Feb. 10 (Sun.)	LOYOLA (N.O.)	XULA TENNIS CENTER	Noon
Women	Feb. 20 (Wed.)	Grambling	Baton Rouge, La.	3 p.m.
Men	Feb. 22 (Fri.)	at New Orleans	New Orleans, La.	4 p.m.
Both	Feb. 23 (Sat.)	John Brown	Alexandria, La.	Noon
Both	Feb. 23 (Sat.)	Texas Wesleyan	Alexandria, La.	4 p.m.
Women	Feb. 24 (Sun.)	at LSU-Alexandria	Alexandria, La.	10 a.m.
Men	Feb. 24 (Sun.)	Louisiana College	Alexandria, La.	10 a.m.
Men	Feb. 27 (Wed.)	NICHOLLS	XULA TENNIS CENTER	3 p.m.
Both	March 1 (Fri.)	at William Carey	Hattiesburg, Miss.	2 p.m.
Men	March 8 (Fri.)	TEXAS A&M-TEXARKANA	XULA TENNIS CENTER	11 a.m.
Both	March 9 (Sat.)	at Tougaloo	Jackson, Miss.	9 a.m.
Both	March 9 (Sat.)	Rust	Jackson, Miss.	1 p.m.
Both	March 9 (Sat.)	at Jackson State	Jackson, Miss.	4 p.m.
Men	March 13 (Wed.)	at Louisiana-Lafayette  (DH)	Lafayette, La.	5 p.m./7:30 p.m.
Both	March 15 (Fri.)	at Northwestern Ohio	Lima, Ohio	TBA
Both	March 16 (Sat.)	Indiana Wesleyan	TBA	TBA
Both	March 18 (Mon.)	SCAD ATLANTA	XULA TENNIS CENTER	3 p.m.
Both	March 22 (Fri.)	WILLIAM WOODS	XULA TENNIS CENTER	3 p.m.
Women	March 23 (Sat.)	SOUTHERN MISS	XULA TENNIS CENTER	2 p.m.
Both	March 28 (Thu.)	LEWIS-CLARK STATE	XULA TENNIS CENTER	3 p.m.
Both	March 29 (Fri.)	Reinhardt	Pensacola, Fla.	TBA
Both	March 30 (Sat.)	Lindsey Wilson	Pensacola, Fla.	TBA
Women	March 31 (Sun.)	LSU-Alexandria	Pensacola, Fla.	TBA
Men	March 31 (Sun.)	Texas A&M-Texarkana	Pensacola, Fla.	TBA
Both	April 6 (Sat.)	WILLIAM CAREY	XULA TENNIS CENTER	Noon
Women	April 7 (Sun.)	LSU-ALEXANDRIA	XULA TENNIS CENTER	Noon
Men	April 18 (Thu.)	at Mobile	Mobile, Ala.	Noon
Both	April 19 (Fri.)	Keiser	Pensacola, Fla.	TBA
Both	April 20 (Sat.)	at West Florida	Pensacola, Fla.	1 p.m.
Both	May 14 (Tue.)- May 18 (Sat.)	NAIA National Championships	Mobile, Ala.	TBA
(DH) doubleheader Home matches (in bold and CAPITAL LETTERS) are played at XULA Tennis Center (capacity 200), Xavier University campus, New Orleans TBA — to be announced All times are Central, except where noted Schedule is subject to change