Rush, Howell continue their success at AUM Invitational
March 10, 2012

Results:  Men    Women

     MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Xavier University of Louisiana men's tennis team rolled to its ninth consecutive victory Saturday, and the Gold Nuggets' Kourtney Howell recorded her second singles victory in as many days against a ranked opponent in the AUM Invitational.
     The Gold Rush, ranked ninth in the NAIA, defeated 22nd-ranked Campbellsville 9-0. The win streak of the XU men (9-1) is their longest since the start of the 2001-02 season.
     The Gold Nuggets lost 7-2 to No. 15 Shorter, but Howell beat 22nd-ranked Candice Laurent 7-5, 2-6, 1-0 (10-8) at the No. 1 flight. Howell has four consecutive singles victories since losing six straight. It was Howell's second super-tiebreaker victory of the spring semester in eight attempts.
     Winning her sixth consecutive No. 2 singles match — she began the streak this past Sunday— was XU freshman Amanda Materre, who beat Margot Vetter 6-3, 6-2. Aurelie Gaborit clinched for Shorter (13-3) with a 6-1, 6-0 victory against Jordyn Goody at No. 4.
     Shorter defeated the Gold Nuggets (2-11) for the second time in six days.
     The XU men won every set but one against Campbellsville (4-1). Viktor Svoboda clinched the dual with a 6-3, 6-0 victory against Pablo Numbela at No. 3 singles.
     Steffen Giles-Osborn and Sean Richardson improved their singles win streaks to six. Giles-Osborn defeated Pontus Blom 6-1, 6-2 at No. 4, and Richardson beat Alberto Diaz 6-1, 6-2 at No. 6.
     The Gold Rush have six victories in the past seven duals against ranked opponents. The Gold Nuggets are 1-4 this season against ranked opponents.
     "Our men got off to a good start in the doubles today," XU coach Alan Green said. "We're trying to clean up some things so we don't have to rely as much on our singles.
     "Our women played tough in singles but came up short. We need to play much better doubles just to give ourselves a chance in these matches."
     Both XU teams will play ranked NAIA opponents in this event at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. The Rush will play No. 5 Auburn Montgomery for the men's championship, and the Nuggets will play No. 22 Campbellsville.