Sunday, 09/27/2009

 ATLANTA — The men's and women's and tennis teams of Xavier University of Louisiana combined to win 12 of 16 singles matches Thursday in the HBCU National Championships.
     Nine of the victories by Xavier, an NAIA member, were against NCAA Division I opponents.
     Steffen Giles-Osborn, Hassan Abbas and Colleen McArthur all went 2-0. Abbas defeated a pair of all-conference players.
     Giles-Osborn, winner of 11 of his past 12 singles matches dating to March, beat Bethune-Cookman's Marc Misanovic 7-6, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of the men's A-flight. Abbas, in his first season at Xavier, reached the men's B-flight quarterfinals with a 7-6, 6-7, 1-0 (10-8) victory against Hampton's top-seeded Gellert Varga, who was second-team All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in 2008.
     The other Abbas victory was 6-1, 6-1 against Fort Valley State's Brandon Pringle, a first-team All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference player this past season.
     McArthur advanced to the women's C-flight quarterfinals with a 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (10-8) decision against Florida A&M's Britney Dean.
     Two-time NAIA first-team All-American Anastesia Opata, seeded fourth in the women's A-flight, beat Southern's Kathryn Curtis 6-1, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals and extend her singles winning streak to nine matches dating to this past season.
     Also reaching the quarterfinals were Cameron Knowles and Sean Richardson in the men's C-flight. Knowles, seeded first in that bracket, beat Alcorn State's Diago Gonsalvez 6-4, 6-2. Richardson, a 6-0, 6-3 victor against Bethune-Cookman's Jeffrey Smallwood, has won seven consecutive singles matches dating to this past season.
     More matches will be played Friday, including the opening rounds of doubles. The tournament will conclude Saturday or — if rain is a factor — Sunday.