XU Gold Nuggets, No. 3 in NAIA last season, add 4 to roster

Nour Abbes

Brandi Nelson

NEW ORLEANS — Coach Alan Green on Thursday announced Xavier University of Louisiana's four-member women's tennis recruiting class. Newcomers signed to scholarships for the 2013-14 academic year were:

• Nour Abbes of Tunis, Tunisia, and Lycée Sportif d'El Menzah.
• Sha'Nel Bruins of Colfax, La., and Grant High School.
• Dasia Harris of Sugar Land, Texas, and Elkins High School.
• Brandi Nelson of Jonesboro, Ga., and Faith Academy.

All four are right-handers, and all come to Xavier as freshmen. They will join seven letterwomen returning from a team which ranked third in the NAIA postseason poll. The Gold Nuggets in 2013 became the first Xavier team in any sport to reach the NAIA's national semifinals or be ranked No. 1 in an NAIA coaches poll. The XU women were ranked first in three consecutive polls.

Abbes was 71st in the International Tennis Federation's 2010 year-end junior rankings and was 48th in July of that year. She has been a member of her home country's national team for 10 years. Abbes reached the junior girls doubles quarterfinals at the 2010 French Open and has won doubles titles on the WTA futures circuit and in Africa's under-18 championships. The ITF website lists her career records as 87-49 in singles and 98-44 in doubles.

Dasia Harris

Sha'Nel Bruins

Bruins was the LHSAA Class 4A state singles champion in 2013 and a semifinalist in 2012 and 2011. She was a two-sport standout who was honorable-mention All-Cenla and first-team All-District 3-4A in basketball her senior year after averaging 21 points a game and leading the Lady Cougars to the state playoffs for the first time since 2008. Bruins was the valedictorian of her class.

Harris has won two doubles championships in juniors and was the No. 1 singles player on her high-school team for two seasons. Harris was one of 15 seniors from the class of 2013 to receive a scholarship from the USTA Texas Tennis and Education Foundation.

Nelson is a Tennisrecruiting.net 3-star prospect who has won 10 singles championships and 12 doubles championships. The website also ranks her 11th in Georgia and 62nd in the Southeast. She is the younger sister of Carmen Nelson, a junior and two-year letterwinner on the Gold Nuggets.

Abbes and Nelson are undecided on their academic majors at Xavier. Bruins is a chemistry/pre-pharmacy major, and Harris is majoring in business management.

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