Rain suspends Gold Rush opener at NAIA tourney
May 18, 2010

     MOBILE, Ala. — The Xavier University of Louisiana men's tennis team's first-round dual match in the NAIA National Championship was suspended Tuesday after two rain delays.
     Tennessee Wesleyan led the Gold Rush 2-1 through the completion of doubles, but Xavier led five of the six singles matches when the dual was suspended.
     The men's matches will resume at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday at Copeland-Cox Tennis Center. The Xavier-Tennessee Wesleyan winner will play top-ranked and defending national champion Fresno Pacific, which has a first-round bye, at 1 p.m.
     Xavier, ranked 16th, scored the first point of the dual when Steffen Giles-Osborn and Mikhail Vaval defeated Cody Gaby and Giovanni Santos 8-5 at No. 1 doubles. But the Bulldogs, ranked 17th, won the next two matches, including Eric Chastain and Tanner Stancil's a 9-8 (9-7) victory at No. 3 over Sean Richardson and Cameron Knowles. Chastain and Stancil scored the final three points of the tiebreaker.
     "We're in a dogfight," Xavier Coach Alan Green said.
     Results:

Tennessee Wesleyan 2, Xavier 1 (suspended due to rain; play will resume at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday)
Doubles
No. 1 — Steffen Giles-Osborn - Mikhail Vaval (XU) d. Cody Gaby-Giovanni Santos (TWC) 8-5.
No. 2 — Juan Barciella Estevez-Guilherme Cervezao (TWC) d. Hassan Abbas-Mario Myles (XU) 8-6.
No. 3 — Eric Chastain-Tanner Stancil (TWC) d. Sean Richardson-Cameron Knowles (XU) 9-8 (9-7).

Singles
No. 1 — Steffen Giles-Osborn (XU) leads Juan Barciella Estevez (TWC) 5-4.
No. 2 — Giovanni Santos (TWC) leads Hassan Abbas (XU) 5-4.
No. 3 — Mario Myles (XU) leads Cody Gaby (TWC) 5-4.
No. 4 — Mikhail Vaval (XU) leads Guilherme Cervezao (TWC) 6-3.
No. 5 — Sean Richardson (XU) leads Eric Chastain (TWC) 4-1.
No. 6 — Cameron Knowles (XU) leads Tanner Stancil (TWC) 6-5.

Order of Finish: Doubles — 1, 2, 3. Records: Xavier 12-13, Tennessee Wesleyan 11-4.