GCAC honors Fakler, Rolland, Kennie, Materre, Montrel

Amanda Materre

Kyle Montrel

Catherine Fakler

Devinn Rolland

Christopher Kennie

Christopher Kennie

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana collected five Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Athlete/Performer of the Week awards Monday: Catherine Fakler in women's outdoor track, Devinn Rolland in women's outdoor field, Christopher Kennie in men's outdoor field, Amanda Materre in women's tennis and Kyle Montrel in men's tennis. All were honored for performances from April 1-7.

Fakler, a sophomore from Phoenix, Ariz., and a graduate of Xavier College Preparatory Roman Catholic High School, was a double-winner Friday in the Mississippi College Twilight Invitational at Clinton, Miss. She recorded personal bests of 4 minutes, 48.87 seconds in the 1,500-meter run and 18:23.24 in the 5,000. This is Fakler's first GCAC weekly award in track after winning twice in cross country this past fall.

Rolland, a sophomore from Harvey, La., and a graduate of Cabrini High School, reached the NAIA Championships A-qualifying standard in the long jump for the fourth time in five meets. She placed third out of 19 competitors at Mississippi College with a season-best of 5.77 meters (18 feet, 11¼ inches). She also ran the second leg of the 400-meter relay which placed sixth in 47.99 and reached the NAIA A-standard. This is her fifth GCAC field award of the season; she's also won the track award twice.

Kennie, a freshman from New Orleans and a graduate of Holy Cross High School, earned his second GCAC award after a season-best 7.03 meters (23 feet, 0¾ inches) in the long jump which placed him fifth out of 22 at Mississippi College. He is the No. 5 NAIA performer in that event this outdoor season.

Materre, a sophomore from Richmond, Texas, and a graduate of Westside High School, won her second GCAC award of the season after going 2-0 in singles and 2-0 in doubles in the Gold Nuggets' dual-match victories against NAIA No. 2 William Carey and No. 3 Auburn Montgomery. Materre won 6-3, 6-2 on the road Friday against William Carey's Maja Vuzem, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's 22nd-ranked singles player. Materre is ranked 39th.

Montrel, a freshman from Atlanta and a graduate of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, was 2-0 in singles and 2-0 in doubles against No. 6 William Carey and No. 1 Auburn Montgomery. The Gold Rush won 5-4 at Carey, and Montrel's 6-1, 6-4 victory against Robin Semal tied the dual at 4. This is the third time this season Montrel has won the GCAC award, which matches the conference's season record set by XU's Terry Richardson in 2009 and tied by XU's Zach Taylor in 2011 and 2012 and teammate Viktor Svoboda a week ago.

Xavier will be the host school for the GCAC Championships on Saturday at Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans. It's a one-day meet with field events starting at 8:45 a.m. and track events beginning at 9:30. The XU men's tennis team will conclude its regular season with an 11 a.m. Sunday dual against Jackson State at the new XU Tennis Center. The Gold Nuggets have nothing else on their regular-season schedule, but coach Alan Green said that could change.


By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA