MOBILE, Ala. – The Embry-Riddle women's tennis team put forth a valiant effort , but were unable to get by top-seed Xavier (19-7), closing out the 2013 campaign in the quarterfinals of the 2013 NAIA National Championship on Thursday. The Eagles led after doubles, but the Gold Nuggets earned four wins in singles to advance to the national semifinal with a 5-3 edge over the Blue and Gold.

The first point of the day came at No. 3 doubles where Xavier's Olivia West and Amanda Materre got an 8-2 win over Meena Bennett and Ana Gonzalez-Hoy. On court two, the ERAU tandem of Giovanna Tomiotto and Paola Montero handed Simone Alyse Ewell and Amber Brown an 8-2 defeat to tie the team score at 1-1.

At No. 1 doubles, Embry-Riddle's Hui-I Huang and Kristina Marova took an early 2-0 lead, but Xavier's Kourtney Howell and Brion Flowers bounced back to take over the lead 3-2. The match stayed on serve until the Eagle pair earned a break to go up 6-5. Sixth-ranked Huang and Marova then held and broke again to register an 8-5 upset of the top-ranked Xavier duo and give the Eagles a 2-1 advantage heading into singles play.

The Gold Nuggets earned points at No. 3 and No. 4 singles as Materre topped Montero 6-1, 6-3 and Ewell bested Tomiotto by the same margin to give Xavier a 3-2 edge. Marova drew the Eagles level with her 6-3, 6-2 decision against Flowers on court two, but Brown reclaimed the lead for Xavier with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Gonzalez-Hoy at the fifth spot.

On court six, Bennett lost the first set, but made an adjustment that allowed her to win the second 6-3 to force a decisive third set. The ERAU freshman was able to go up 1-0 on Vashni Balleste, but was unable to complete her match as Howell battled to a 7-5, 6-1 win over Huang at No. 1 singles to clinch the win for Xavier.

“It was a good match today,” ERAU Head Coach Dave Paschal said following the contest. “We really fought hard. I would have like to have seen us play a little bit freer. I think that when we saw that we had an opportunity to potentially win the match, we kind of played a little fearful. Hats off to Xavier, especially at No. 1 singles; when she needed to step up, she stepped up.

“We've had a really good tournament with the team that we had. To have a great win against Westmont yesterday and to be really close to getting to the semifinals again, it was a really good tournament and hopefully it will be a springboard for next year.”

Friday's quarterfinal appearance was the Eagles' fifth in six seasons. The young Eagle squad, which included three juniors, a sophomore and four freshmen, compiled an overall record of 12-11 in 2013.