XU's Abbes, Montrel, Green receive Wilson/ITA awards

XU women's tennis team posed for a team photo prior to the NAIA National \
Championship banquet.  The Gold Nuggets are ranked #1 in the last NAIA poll.

From left: Nikita Soifer, Kourtney Howell, Alan Green, Nour Abbes and Kyle Montrel.
 All were honored at a banquet prior to the NAIA National Championship, which will
begin Tuesday in Mobile, Alabama.

MOBILE, Alabama --  Nour Abbes, Kyle Montrel and Alan Green received Wilson/ITA NAIA awards for Xavier University of Louisiana's tennis programs Monday night at a banquet honoring the teams which qualified for this week's NAIA National Championship.

Abbes was chosen Women's National and Region IV Rookie of the Year. Montrel was selected Men's Region IV Player to Watch, and Green was chosen Women's Region IV Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.

Montrel and the Gold Rush (11-11) will play Hastings (13-12) at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in the opening round of the national tournament at Copeland-Cox Mobile Tennis Center. Abbes and the top-seeded Gold Nuggets (15-6) have a first-round bye and will play at 9 a.m. Wednesday against Davenport or Lewis-Clark State.

Xavier's Champions of Character recipients were Kourtney Howell of the Gold Nuggets and Nikita Soifer of the Golf Rush.

Abbes, a freshman from Tunis, Tunisia and a graduate of Lycée Sportif d'El Menzah, is 14-0 in singles, 13-2 in doubles and ranked second among NAIA singles players.

"These awards made the wait to play worth it," Abbes said. "I thank my coach and my teammates for making this possible. Hopefully we will win a championship this week for coach and our seniors."

Montrel, a sophomore from Atlanta and a graduate of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, is 15-9 in singles and ranked 16th. In doubles he is 17-6 and ranked 20th.

"I'm definitely surprised to win this," Montrel said. "I'm glad to be recognized for my efforts. I have tried to improve this year on my work ethic and consistency. Coach Green has worked with me a lot on both areas."

Green has led XU's women to a 15-6 record, the NAIA Unaffiliated Group 2 Tournament championship and the NAIA's No. 1 ranking in the final two polls entering the national tournament. He won the coaching award in a region which produced seven of the top nine women's teams.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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