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XULA Tournament History
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Visitors Guide
NEW ORLEANS — For the
fifth time in six seasons, Xavier University of Louisiana women's tennis is among the top four seeds
in the NAIA National Championship tournament at Mobile, Ala.
The NAIA announced Tuesday the pairings for the 24-team event,
and the top eight teams earned byes.
XULA will play 13th-seeded William Carey or 20th-seeded Oakland City
in the round of 16 at 1 p.m. CDT May 15. Tournament venue for the 20th consecutive
season will be Copeland-Cox Mobile Tennis Center (851 Gaillard Drive, zip code 36608,
phone 251-208-5181). Admission is free for every round.
XULA (21-5) earned an automatic bid to nationals
by winning 4-0 Saturday against LSU-Alexandria in the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament
final at San Antonio, Texas. XULA was ranked third in the final coaches poll April 24.
William Carey (14-8) and Oakland City (11-10)
will meet in the first round at 1 p.m. May 14.
This will be the XULA's 17th appearance at
nationals — all in its last 19 seasons — and 12th in a row. The streak does not include 2020, when the tournament was canceled
because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
XULA reached the national semifinals
in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2021. The 2013 team was the first at XULA in any sport
to reach the national semifinals of a bracketed NAIA tournament.
In order from the top, XULA's singles lineup will be
Mbali Langa,
Kareemah Muhammad,
Amira Bergaoui,
Kyra Akinnibi,
Valaine Clarke and
McKenna Wheatley.
The doubles teams will be Langa and Wheatley at No. 1, Bergaoui and
Valentina Largacha at No. 2 and
Akinnibi and Clarke at No. 3. Also on the roster are
Sydney Green and
Ariana Stephens.
Also notable:
• XULA has a first-round bye for
the seventh consecutive season.
• XULA is seeded fifth or higher for
the eighth time in 11 seasons.
• XULA will enter nationals with a 10-match win streak.
• A win in the round of 16 would
give the Gold Nuggets a school-record-tying 22 victories. XULA was 22-7 a year ago and 22-8 in 2005.
