NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Xavier University of Louisiana's first-ever appearance in the Oracle Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Fall Championships ended Friday when the Gold Nuggets' Angela Charles-Alfred and Lailaa Bashir lost 6-4, 6-2 to Georgia's 19th-ranked Elena Christofi and Vivian Wolff in the consolation quarterfinals of women's doubles.
     Charles-Alfred, a junior, and Bashir, a freshman, finished 1-2 in this event — losses to SEC teams sandwiched around a straight-sets victory against UCLA's 37th-ranked Abi Altick and Taylor Johnson — and will take a 13-2 overall record into the dual-match season, which will begin in late January.
     "I'm so proud of what these two accomplished this week," 17th-year XULA head coach Alan Green said. "It doesn't even feel like a loss because we weren't supposed to get this far. We showed that we are good and can compete with anyone."
     XULA's only lead occurred when Charles-Alfred and Bashir broke Georgia's serve in the opening game. Christofi and Wolff broke serve in the second game and took the lead for good in the third.
     Charles-Alfred and Bashir qualified for this tournament by winning the small-college title, XULA's first ever, at the ITA Cup in Rome, Ga., in October. There they won the NAIA championship, then defeated NJCAA and NCAA Division II champions for the overall title and an automatic bid to fall nationals.
     Charles-Alfred and Bashir also won doubles titles in September at the HBCU National Championships and the ITA NAIA South Regional.