Results
MOBILE, Ala. — Xavier University
of Louisiana women's tennis avenged its only loss of the past 11 weeks
with a 4-0 victory Thursday against Union (Ky.) in the quarterfinals of
the NAIA National Championship tournament.
The Gold Nuggets (21-5), ranked third
in the coaches poll and seeded third in the tournament, will play No. 2 Keiser
in the semifinals at 9 a.m. Friday at Copeland-Cox Mobile Tennis Center
(851 Gaillard Drive, zip code 36608, phone 251-208-5181). Admission is free.
Freshman
Valentina Largacha
clinched for XULA when she defeated Alba Rodenas Risueno 6-4, 6-0 at No. 6 singles.
Angela Charles-Alfred earned XULA's first singles victory, 6-0, 6-3
against Christina Schoener at No. 3, and
Farah Baklouti defeated Nicole Viljoen 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4.
Baklouti and
Kyra Akinnibi clinched
the doubles point at No. 3 with their 6-2 victory against Rodenas Risueno
and Mai Kitashita. Charles-Alfred and
Lailaa Bashir, third in the ITA NAIA national doubles
rankings, beat Schoner and Ljiljana Pajcin 6-0 on the first court.
It was the Gold Nuggets' seventh consecutive victory
since a 4-3 loss April 9 to Union in the IWU Invitational and the
15th in their last 16 dual matches.
Union (15-3) was seeded sixth and seventh in the coaches poll.
It was the Bulldogs' first quarterfinal appearance.
Keiser advanced with a 4-0 victory
against LSU-Alexandria. No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett and No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan will meet in the other
semifinal; the championship round will start at 9 a.m. Saturday.
The semifinal appearance will be the
Gold Nuggets' sixth, all in the last eight tournaments. Head coach
Alan Green's
2013 team was XULA's first in any sport to reach the NAIA national semifinals.