Pao, Goreau reach semifinals in XULA tourney

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana’s Charlene Goreau and Yi Chen Pao reached the singles semifinals Friday of the XULA Fall Invitational at XULA Tennis Center.

Goreau, seeded first in singles, had a first-round bye, then defeated LSU-Alexandria’s Ariadna Cabezas 8-2 in the quarterfinals. Goreau will play LSUA’s Alba Perny Saturday.

Unseeded Pao upset LSUA’s third-seeded Miljana Melojevic 8-5, then defeated William Carey’s Maria Andreeva 9-8 (9-7). Pao will play LSUA’s Laia Charles in the other semifinal.

XULA’s unseeded Manon Bonada upset William Carey’s second-seeded Natalia Baliaeva 8-6 in the first round, then lost 8-4 to Charles.

The women-only event is the Gold Nuggets’ third of the fall semester. The two-day tournament will resume at 9 a.m. Saturday with the first two rounds of doubles.