Saturday, 02/04/2012

NEW ORLEANS -- Zach Taylor rallied for a three-set victory against Hossam Meligy to clinch Xavier University of Louisiana's 6-3 men's victory Friday against the University of New Orleans at City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center.
   
It was the first victory ever for the Gold Rush (1-1), ranked ninth in the NAIA, against the Privateers (0-1).
   
UNO's women defeated Xavier 9-0.
   
Taylor defeated Meligy 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2 singles to give the Gold Rush a 5-2 lead. Loic Didavi, Steffen Giles-Osborn and Amir Rahbar also won in singles for Xavier.
   
"This was a great win for our guys," XU coach Alan Green said. "I was proud of the way they fought and competed. It's good to beat UNO after all these years of losing to them as a coach and as a player."
   
Didavi and Taylor scored the first point of the dual with their 8-4 victory at No. 1 singles against Meligy and Yoshikazu Ysa. Giles-Osborn and Sean Richardson gave the Rush a 2-1 lead with an 8-6 victory at No. 3 doubles against Dominik Kardell and Rohit Chivukula.
   
UNO's women (1-0) won every match against Xavier (0-2) for the second straight year. The Gold Nuggets' best shot at a point came at No. 1 singles, but the Privateers' Marta Sans rallied for a 1-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-4) victory against Kourtney Howell. XU's Amanda Materre lost 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) to Juliet Labarthe at No. 3, but no other XU singles player won more than one game.
   
"Our women still have some work to do," Green said. "They've got to keep fighting. I saw some improvement in doubles, but we still have to get a lot better."
   
The Gold Nuggets will travel to South Alabama for an 11 a.m. Saturday dual. The next Gold Rush match will start at 3 p.m. next Friday at Prairie View A&M.