Sunday, September 22, 2013

XU Rush win team, individual titles at HBCU Championships

JONESBORO, Ga. -- Xavier University of Louisiana sophomore Kyle Montrel defeated North Carolina Central's Daniil Gerasimov 6-2, 6-4 Saturday to win the men's singles A flight at the HBCU National Tennis Championships and lead the Gold Rush to its first-ever team title in this event.

Montrel became the second Gold Rush player in three years to win the singles championship in the A flight. His final three victories came against NCAA Division I opponents. Xavier is an NAIA member.

The XU men earned the team championship on a combination of matches won and bracket byes. The three-day tournament ended after rain canceled a few of the matches. Neither of the men's doubles flights were completed, and none of the three Gold Rush teams had been eliminated.

"The guys had an awesome weekend. With so many new guys, I'm happy about the way they are blending together and forming a bond," XU coach Alan Green said. "The Nuggets played well, too, and I'm excited about how well our freshmen played. This has the makings of a special year for us if we can keep this up."

XU freshman Tushar Mandlekar lost 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 to Florida A&M's Zack Evenden in the men's B flight singles final. Another freshman, Sha'Nel Bruins, lost 6-0, 6-3 to Southern's top-seeded Morgan Taylor in the women's C singles semifinals.

Nikita Soifer and Jordan Harrell, seeded first in men's B doubles, defeated Bluefield State's fourth-seeded Vlad Catlan and Connor Pickering 8-2 in the semifinals. Montrel and Mandlekar led Bluefield State's Vishwesh Sinha and Aziz Yuldashev 4-3 in their A doubles semifinal when rain stopped it.

Xavier will play host to the USTA/ITA South Regional Championships, a three-day tournament which will start Friday at the XU Tennis Center and City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center.


By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

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