Xavier teams do the splits with West Alabama
February 8, 2011

Results:  Men    Women

     NEW ORLEANS — Zach Taylor and Hassan Abbas scored in singles and doubles Tuesday to lead NAIA No. 14 Xavier University of Louisiana to a 6-3 men's tennis victory against West Alabama at the University of New Orleans.
     West Alabama defeated Xavier's 22nd-ranked women 6-3. The duals were a makeup after being postponed Thursday because of cold weather.
     Taylor and Abbas defeated Juan Felipe Tellez and Lucas Cruz 8-6 at No. 1 doubles. Abbas beat Wade Covington 6-3, 6-0 at No. 3 singles, and Taylor clinched the second consecutive victory for the Gold Rush (2-1) with a 6-3, 6-1 decision over Tellez at No. 2.
     The XU men got their other points from Steffen Giles-Osborn and Sean Richardson in an 8-6 No. 2 doubles victory over Santiago Lopez and Covington, from Amir Rahbar in a 6-4, 6-1 singles victory over Kike Ruiz at No. 4, and from Jonathan Aubrey in a 6-0, 6-3 victory at No. 6 over Lucas Nunes. Rahbar and Aubrey are freshmen.
     In the women's dual Melissa DeLoach of the Gold Nuggets (1-2) defeated Emily Gerding 6-4, 7-5 at No. 3 singles, and she teamed with younger sister Nicole for an 8-2 No. 2 doubles victory over Gerding and Katy Shoptaugh.
     Carmen Nelson and Amber Brown also scored for the Nuggets with an 8-2 No. 1 doubles victory over Angy Cuellar and Natalia Cardenas. Xavier once again forfeited matches at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles because of only five available women, and Brown and Nicole DeLoach dropped three-set singles matches.
     Both West Alabama teams are 1-1. The Tigers compete in NCAA Division II.
     "Our men were a little sloppy overall in doubles. I wanted them to pick up their intensity in singles, and they did," XU Coach Alan Green said. "Our women played a hard-fought match. Even though they were outnumbered, they played well."
     Xavier's men and women will travel next to Prairie View, Texas, for a combined five duals. Both teams will play Our Lady of the Lake at 11 a.m. Friday and Prairie View A&M at 10 a.m. Saturday, and the men will play Bethany (Kan.) at 6 p.m. Friday. The dual pairings differ slightly from what was announced last month.