Four HBCU tennis titles for XULA with two for Charles-Alfred

ATLANTA — Xavier University of Louisiana won four main-draw finals, more than any other school, at the HBCU National Tennis Championships Saturday.

XULA’s champions were:

• Santiago Perez, a 6-4, 6-7(5-7), 6-4 winner against Morgan State’s Nihit Rawal in the men’s singles A-bracket.
• Angela Charles-Alfred, a 6-2, 6-2 winner against teammate Lailaa Bashir in the women’s singles A-bracket.
• Charles-Alfred and Bashir, a 6-2 winner against Florida A&M’s Aylen Hubeaut and Haleigh Porter in the women’s doubles A-bracket.
• Farah Baklouti and Yi Chen Pao, a 6-0 winner against Florida A&M’s Rachel Harden and Sophia Osabuohien in the women’s doubles B-bracket. Baklouti and Pao won doubles titles at this event a year ago, but with different partners.

The Gold Nuggets were second in women’s team scoring with 22 points. Florida A&M was first with 29 points, and Jackson State was third with 17. XULA won the women’s team title a year ago. XULA tied for fifth with North Carolina A&T in the men’s division with 10 points; Morgan State won with 25 points, and Bethune-Cookman was second with 17.

Morgan State was second to XULA in main-draw finals won with three. Florida A&M won two, and North Carolina A&T won one.

Next for the Nuggets and Rush will be the ITA NAIA South Regional Championships, with matches at XULA and City Park. The three-day event will start Friday.