Abbas, Giles-Osborn strong at top, but Eagles win duals
April 1, 2010

Results:  Men    Women

     IRVINE, Calif. — Xavier University of Louisiana got victories from its top two men's singles players, but Concordia (Calif.) won 6-3 against the Gold Rush and 9-0 against the Gold Nuggets in matchups of ranked NAIA tennis teams Thursday.
     Hassan Abbas of the Gold Rush defeated ninth-ranked Augusto Elias 6-4, 6-1, and Steffen Giles-Osborn, earning his first victory in five duals, beat 39th-ranked Kareem Berdai 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. It was the first time in four attempts this season that Giles-Osborn won in three sets.
     Abbas defeated a top-20 singles opponent for the second straight day.
     Sean Richardson collected the other Gold Rush victory, a 6-4, 6-4 decision against Chris Paish.
     The XU men, 15th in the NAIA coaches poll, are 9-11, and third-ranked Concordia is 12-3.
     The Gold Nuggets (11-11), ranked 19th, did not win a set against the fifth-ranked Concordia women (14-3), who lost 5-2 to Xavier in 2008.
     Eighth-ranked Jennifer Sher defeated the Nuggets' No. 18 Anastesia Opata 6-1, 6-3. Angelina Callis, seeking her third singles victory in four days against a ranked opponent, lost 7-5, 6-1 to No. 16 Bettina Radke.
     It was the Nuggets' ninth consecutive dual against a ranked opponent.
     Both Xavier teams finished 0-4 in their California trip. All the losses were to top-10 teams. The Rush has lost five straight and 10 of its last 12 duals, and the Nuggets have dropped eight of 11.