Friday, January 19, 2018

Xavier Openers are Saturday; Green nears coaching milestones

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Coach Alan Green
NEW ORLEANS — Alan Green is on the verge of a pair of coaching milestones as he leads his Xavier University of Louisiana tennis teams into the 2018 spring semester.
     

Green, in his 15th season as coach of the XULA men and women, needs one dual-match victory to reach 200 in his career with the Gold Rush (men) and two victories to reach 200 with the Gold Nuggets. Green's career records: 199-134 with the men and 198-157 with the women.
     

XULA, a perennial NAIA power, will play its first dual matches at 2 p.m. Saturday against NCAA Division I's South Alabama at Mobile, Ala. The home opener for the Rush and Nuggets will be Jan. 28 — one week from Sunday — against city rival Loyola at XULA Tennis Center. Admission is free to all XULA home matches.
     

Both the men's and women's schedules again will feature a heavy dose of NCAA DI teams and ranked NCAA DII and NAIA opponents. Both teams will play defending NAIA champion Georgia Gwinnett during the Grizzly Invitational at Lawrenceville, Ga., Feb. 16-18. The XULA men will play defending NCAA DIII champion Emory during the Grizzly Invitational, and they'll visit last season's NCAA DII champion, West Florida, April 15.
     

he Gold Rush — the NAIA national runner-up in 2016 and 2017 and No. 2 in the 2017 postseason coaches poll — will play nine duals against NCAA DI (Louisiana-Lafayette twice, Abilene Christian, Jackson State, Jacksonville State, South Alabama, Nicholls State, Prairie View A&M, Jackson State), three against top-10 NCAA DII opponents (No. 1 West Florida, No. 4 Valdosta State, No. 10 Embry-Riddle [Fla.]), one against a ranked NCAA DIII opponent (No. 1 Emory) and six against ranked NAIA teams (No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett, No. 3 Keiser, No. 7 William Carey twice, No. 11 Mobile, No. 25 SCAD Atlanta).
     

The Gold Nuggets — ranked No. 1 a combined five times in 2012 and 2013 and No. 10 in the 2017 postseason — will play nine duals against NCAA DI (Louisiana-Lafayette twice, Grambling, Jackson State, Nicholls State, Prairie View A&M, South Alabama, Southern, Southern Miss), two against ranked NCAA DII opponents (No. 5 West Florida, No. 25 Valdosta State) and 11 against ranked NAIA teams (No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett, No. 6 William Carey twice, No. 8 San Diego Christian, No. 9 LSU-Alexandria twice, No. 13 Mobile, No. 14 Cumberlands, No. 15 SCAD Atlanta, No. 16 Arizona Christian, No. 17 Lewis-Clark State).
     

All NAIA team rankings are from the 2017 postseason polls. The first of nine rankings in 2018 will be announced Tuesday.
     

The NAIA National Championships will be played at Mobile, Ala., for the 15th consecutive season. The Gold Rush will attempt to qualify for nationals for the 10th consecutive year and the 10th time overall; the Gold Nuggets will try to qualify for the seventh consecutive year, the 10th time in 11 years and the 12th time overall.
     

Green expects his teams to be well-equipped to handle the demanding schedules. He has eight players with current or previous national or regional ITA rankings during their XULA tenures. The Gold Rush roster includes returning All-Americans Antoine Richard and Catalin Fifea, plus newcomer Samir Chikhaoui, ranked 19th in the NAIA in singles. Richard was third in the 2017 postseason singles rankings; Fifea currently is 42nd. Also back is Pierre Andrieu, who was 12th with Fifea in doubles at the close of 2017.
     

Two-time All-American Charlene Goreau returns for the Gold Nuggets, and she's ranked 23rd nationally. Also back for the XULA women are Yi Chen Pao, No. 50 in singles, and Lacee Ancar, who ranked as high as 12th last year in doubles. Newcomer Manon Bonada is 18th in the South in singles.

2018 XULA Tennis Schedule

Team(s)Date(s)OpponentSiteTime(s)
BothJan. 20 (Sat.)at South AlabamaMobile, Ala.2 p.m.
MenJan. 27 (Sat.)at Louisiana-Lafayette  (DH)Lafayette, La.10 a.m./2 p.m.
BothJan. 28 (Sun.)LOYOLA (N.O.)XULA TENNIS CENTERNoon
MenFeb. 2 (Fri.)JACKSONVILLE STATEXULA TENNIS CENTER2 p.m.
WomenFeb. 3 (Sat.)at Louisiana-Lafayette  (DH)Lafayette, La.10 a.m./1:30 p.m.
WomenFeb. 8 (Thu.)at Southern MissHattiesburg, Miss.2:30 p.m.
WomenFeb. 9 (Fri.)GramblingBaton Rouge, La.3 p.m.
WomenFeb. 10 (Fri.)LSU-AlexandriaAlexandria, La.Noon
BothFeb. 16-18
(Fri.-Sun.)
Grizzly InvitationalLawrenceville, Ga.TBA
BothFeb. 21 (Wed.)at Nicholls StateThibodaux, La.1 p.m.
MenFeb. 22 (Thu.)Prairie View A&MBaton Rouge, La.2 p.m.
BothFeb. 23 (Fri.)at MobileMobile, Ala.3 p.m.
BothMarch 2 (Fri.)at William CareyHattiesburg, Miss.3 p.m.
WomenMarch 8 (Thu.)at Arizona ChristianPhoenix, Ariz.4 p.m. MST
WomenMarch 9 (Fri.)Lewis-Clark StatePhoenix, Ariz.6:30 p.m. MST
WomenMarch 10 (Sat.)WestmontPhoenix, Ariz.Noon MST
WomenMarch 10 (Sat.)Ottawa (Ariz.)Phoenix, Ariz.6 p.m. MST
WomenMarch 11 (Sun.)San Diego ChristianPhoenix, Ariz.Noon MST
BothMarch 18 (Sun.)SCAD ATLANTAXULA TENNIS CENTERTBA
MenMarch 23 (Fri.)ABILENE CHRISTIANXULA TENNIS CENTER3 p.m.
WomenMarch 24 (Sat.)LSU-ALEXANDRIAXULA TENNIS CENTERNoon
MenMarch 26 (Mon.)at Embry-RiddleDaytona Beach, Fla.3:30 p.m. EDT
MenMarch 27 (Tue.)KeiserOrlando, Fla.1 p.m. EDT
WomenApril 6 (Fri.)SOUTHERNXULA TENNIS CENTER3 p.m.
BothApril 8 (Sun.)JACKSON STATEXULA TENNIS CENTERNoon
BothApril 12 (Thu.)WILLIAM CAREYXULA TENNIS CENTER1 p.m.
BothApril 14 (Sat.)Valdosta StatePensacola, Fla.3 p.m.
BothApril 15 (Sun.)at West FloridaPensacola, Fla.Noon
BothApril 16 (Mon.)LEWIS-CLARK STATEXULA TENNIS CENTER10 a.m.
BothTBANAIA Unaffiliated Group
Tournament
TBATBA
BothMay 15 (Tue.)-
May 19 (Sat.)
NAIA National ChampionshipsMobile, Ala.TBA
(DH) doubleheader
Home matches (in bold and CAPITAL LETTERS) are played at XULA Tennis Center (capacity 200), Xavier University campus, New Orleans
TBA — to be announced
All times are Central, except where noted
Schedule is subject to change


Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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