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     NEW ORLEANS — For the second consecutive year, Xavier University of Louisiana women's tennis has the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye for the NAIA National Championship tournament at Mobile, Ala.
     The NAIA announced Tuesday the pairings for the 24-team event.
     The Gold Nuggets (17-5) will play Mobile (9-7) or Cumberlands (10-6) in the round of 16 at 1 p.m. May 15 at Copeland-Cox Mobile Tennis Center (851 Gaillard Drive, zip code 36608, phone 251-208-5181). Admission is free for every round.
     Mobile, the No. 14 seed, and 19th-seeded Cumberlands will play at 1:30 p.m. May 14.
     The tournament's top seven seeds — three-time defending champion Georgia Gwinnett, Keiser, XULA, William Carey, SCAD Savannah, William Woods and Middle Georgia — are in the same positions as they were in the most recent coaches poll.
     XULA won 8-1 April 18 at Mobile. The Gold Nuggets and Cumberlands have not met since XULA's 5-3 victory Feb. 17, 2017, in the Grizzly Invitational at Lawrenceville, Ga.
     Among the Gold Nuggets' leaders are Charlene Goreau — the team's only senior — and sophomores Mariia Borodii and Angela Charles-Alfred, all in the top 20 of the most recent Oracle ITA NAIA singles rankings. Goreau is ranked third, Borodii sixth and Charles-Alfred 19th.
     This will be the Gold Nuggets' 13th appearance at nationals and their eighth in a row. They reached the national semifinals in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018. The 2013 team was the first at XULA in any sport to reach the NAIA's national semifinals.
     XULA has not played since a 4-3 victory April 20 at West Florida, then ranked 15th in NCAA Division II and currently 14th. The Gold Nuggets are 11-1 this season against top-25 opponents.