Rush, Nuggets lose to top-ranked AUM teams
March 17, 2008

Results: Men    Women

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Auburn Montgomery, ranked first in the NAIA in men's and women's tennis, defeated Xavier University of Louisiana's men 8-1 and the women 9-0 on Monday.

Vusumzi Kempele scored the only point for the Gold Rush (7-7) when he defeated Tomas Ptacek 6-4, 6-2 at No. 6 singles. Kempele is 9-1 this season.

"It looks like a blowout on paper," Xavier coach Alan Green said of the men's match. "It was a lot closer than that. There were some very competitive matches and a lot of good points played out there. It was a lot more competitive than last year's match, top to bottom. In singles five of our six men won at least six games."

AUM defeated the Gold Rush 9-0 in 2007.

Green could not say similar things about the women's match, as Xavier won just seven games in nine matches. The loss by the Gold Nuggets (8-5) ended their six-match winning streak.

AUM's men, the two-time defending NAIA national champion, are 14-0 and have a 22-match winning streak. AUM's women, the four-time defending NAIA champion, are 11-0 and have a 20-match winning streak.

Xavier will play Shorter's 19th-ranked men and 13th-ranked women at 2 p.m. EDT Tuesday at Rome, Ga.