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ALMA MATER
In the Mississippi Valley,
In the Crescent Bend
Stands our loved and noble Xavier,
Far her praises send.
Refrain:
Wave her colors bear them onward
Gold and white so true
Hail to thee, all hail, dear Xavier
Hail, all hail, X.U.!
Xavier, ever be our guide
And lead us on the way,
Through life's journey, onward, upward
To the eternal day. (Refrain)
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"Our guys came out like men who had families to feed.
We trusted each other out there and kept our composure
throughout the match. When we play like that, we are very tough to beat." — XU Coach Alan Green |
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Gold Rush qualify for nationals for third straight season
April 30, 2011
Results
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The Xavier University of
Louisiana men's tennis team followed the clearly defined path Saturday.
The Gold Rush, ranked 11th in the NAIA, defeated
23rd-ranked Martin Methodist 5-2 to earn an automatic bid to the national tournament
for the third consecutive year. The qualifying event was for teams whose
conferences did not meet requirements for automatic bids.
A loss would've left Xavier (13-9) waiting for an
at-large bid to the 24-team event — a strong possibility, considering
the Gold Rush's ranking — but after beating Martin Methodist (14-6) for
the second time in as many tries this season, Xavier won't be involved with
that suspense.
"Our guys came out like men who had families to feed,"
Coach Alan Green said. "We trusted each other out there and kept our composure
throughout the match. When we play like that, we are very tough to beat."
Juniors Zach Taylor, Steffen Giles-Osborn and Sean Richardson
won in doubles and singles for the Gold Rush. Taylor, winning for the first time
in his last seven singles matches, put Xavier ahead to stay at 3-2
when he beat Renato Castro 6-1, 6-3 at No. 2. Giles-Osborn beat Alvaro Morcillo 6-3, 6-4
at No. 3 to give the Rush a 4-2 lead, and Richardson clinched with his fifth victory
in six matches, a 6-3, 6-3 decision against Juan Suarez at No. 5.
Giles-Osborn and Richardson were the only Gold Rush players
who were 2-0 in doubles and 2-0 in singles in the two-day, four-team qualifier.
Because of only five available players, Xavier
defaulted at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles. But the Rush did not drop a set in
any of the five completed matches. Taylor and Hassan Abbas, ranked 15th among NAIA doubles teams, improved
to 15-7 with an 8-0 victory against Vinicius Santos and Suarez.
Giles-Osborn and Richardson teamed for an 8-6 decision against Castro and Fabio Santos.
Vinicius Santos was the TranSouth Conference Player of the Year this season,
and Fabio Santos and Suarez were all-conference in singles and doubles.
It was the second loss in the last 13 duals for
Martin Methodist, which opened its season with a 6-3 loss to Xavier on Feb. 18
in Nashville, Tenn.
"This match seemed a bit easier," Green said. "Martin
Methodist played a different doubles lineup, and I think the matchups were favorable
to us."
It was Xavier's third victory of the season against a ranked NAIA
opponent. The XU men have two additional victories against NAIA teams which were unranked
at the time of those matches but were ranked in the most recent poll. Xavier is 7-1 at neutral
sites and 4-0 in Tennessee.
Xavier's men never qualified for nationals before 2009, and they
won first-round matches in both previous appearances. The NAIA National Championship will
start May 17 in Mobile, Ala. Pairings will be announced by 5 p.m. on May 10.
"We look forward to playing the nation's best teams in 95-degree
Gulf Coast heat," Green said.
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