Tournament page

        NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's men are the No. 1 seed in a five-team NAIA unaffiliated group tournament that will start Thursday at XULA Tennis Center.
        The Gold Rush (15-6) have a first-round bye and will play fourth-seeded Lewis-Clark State or fifth-seeded Rust in the semifinals at 2 p.m. CDT Friday. LCSU and Rust will meet in the first round at 2 p.m. Thursday — the only match that day.
        The other semifinal — matching second-seeded Our Lady of the Lake and third-seeded Texas A&M-Texarkana — will start at 10 a.m. Friday.
        Semifinal winners will meet at 10 a.m. Saturday, and the champion will receive an automatic bid to NAIA nationals May 16-20 at Mobile, Ala.
        XULA, ranked seventh in the April 12 NAIA coaches poll, seeks its 14th consecutive bid to nationals. Also ranked is OLLU at No. 24, and TAMUT received votes.
        A year ago the Gold Rush defeated OLLU, Missouri Valley and William Woods to win an unaffiliated group tournament at Springfield, Mo. As a result XULA qualified for nationals for the 13th consecutive time.
        XULA's fourth-ranked women are idle this week and will play host to the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament April 27-29.