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        NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's VanDer Woody defeated Johan Favelin 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) Saturday to clinch a 4-2 men's tennis victory against Our Lady of the Lake in the championship round of an NAIA unaffiliated group tournament at XULA Tennis Center.
        The Gold Rush (14-10), ranked 10th in the NAIA and seeded first in this tournament, earned an automatic bid to NAIA nationals, which will begin May 14 at Mobile, Ala. XULA men's tennis extended to 15 its school record for consecutive appearances at nationals.
        XULA won the doubles point and never trailed. Ivan Vazquez made it 3-2 with his 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 victory against David Daniel on court five, then Woody, on court four, won after trailing 4-2 in the tiebreaker.
        "This win today is the payoff for all the ups and downs we've had all year," 21st-year XULA head coach Alan Green said. "I give these men a lot of credit for staying mentally tough, working hard and not putting their heads down in defeat. My assistant coach Sebastian Perez has done an excellent job with these guys at practice each and every morning. A lot of credit should go his way. I only ask these guys to be men every day, and today they were just that. I'm very proud to be their coach."
        Julius Hell scored XULA's first singles point, defeating David Ekpenyong 6-1, 6-4 to end Ekpenyong's 13-match win streak.
        In doubles, Hell and Woody defeated Michael Canales and Daniel 6-2, then Jacobi Bain and Nereo Suarez clinched that point with a 6-1 victory against Ekpenyong and Kyllian Savary.
        Hell and Woody were named tournament co-MVPs — both were 4-0 in the event — and joining them on the all-tournament team were Bain, Suarez and OLLU's Savary and Luis Hernandez.
        The NAIA will announce April 30 the 24 qualifiers, seedings and pairings for men's nationals.


From left: Julius Hell, Artur Yakubov, Dedric Ray, VanDer Woody, Jered Wilson, Jacobi Bain, Ivan Vazquez and Nereo Suarez.