Xavier teams beat William Carey; Vaval clinches for men
February 17, 2010

Results:  Men    Women

     HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Mikhail Vaval defeated Steven Georgian 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 at No. 4 singles Wednesday to clinch NAIA No. 14 Xavier University of Louisiana's 5-4 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's tennis victory over William Carey.
     Xavier's women, ranked 21st, defeated William Carey 8-1.
     The Gold Rush (3-1 overall, 3-0 GCAC) has won 40 consecutive GCAC regular-season dual matches. The Gold Nuggets (4-3, 4-1) have 57 victories in their last 58 GCAC regular-season dual matches.
     It was the opener for both William Carey teams. This is the first season of intercollegiate tennis at Carey since the 1990s.
     XU's men had only five men available and defaulted matches at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles. After winning the top two doubles flights, the Rush got singles victories from Sean Richardson, Vaval and Hassan Abbas. Vaval's victory gave the Rush a 5-3 lead in the dual. Abbas earned his ninth consecutive singles victory dating to the fall.
     "Mikhail Vaval played a good up-and-down match and clinched it for us," Xavier Coach Alan Green said. "I expect big things from Vaval this year, and he came through for us today."
     It was the first time the Rush lost individual matches to a GCAC opponent since the 2008 GCAC Tournament final.
     XU's women swept the doubles and won five of six singles matches, including Colleen McArthur's 6-0, 6-0 victory over Hannah Johnson at the No. 4 flight. Earning her first collegiate singles victory was Ashley McGill, a third-year member of the XU women's basketball team. She defeated another two-sport player, soccer midfielder and 2009 GCAC Player of the Year Aimi Beresford, 6-1, 6-2 at No. 6.
     The Nuggets climbed above .500 for the first time this season.
     Both Xavier teams will return to Mississippi on Saturday for GCAC duals against Tougaloo at 10 a.m. and Belhaven at 2 p.m.