NEW ORLEANS — The women of Xavier University of Louisiana won a program-best three Intercollegiate Tennis Association/NAIA regional awards Wednesday. The Gold Nuggets' honorees in Region IV (South) are:\• Nour Abbes, tasc Assistant Coach of the Year.
• Charlene Goreau, Player to Watch.
• Mariia Borodii, Rookie of the Year.
Abbes, Goreau and Borodii will receive their awards Monday evening in Mobile, Ala., at a banquet for the women's and men's teams participating in the NAIA National Championships. The ITA's national winners will be announced at that time.
Of the 16 NAIA women's teams to receive ITA regional awards, only Tabor (6), Arizona Christian (3) and XULA collected more than two.
This is Abbes's fifth ITA honor. She was the regional and national rookie of the year in 2013-14, and she was All-America twice.
"Nour is a major reason why our women's team has gone from a top-20 team last year to a potential national champion this year," said Alan Green, XULA head coach and director of tennis. "Nour gained the team's respect from her first day of coaching."
Goreau, a junior from Toulouse, France, is 23-5 in singles this season — she won her last 14 decisions — and 18-10 in doubles. The ITA ranks her ninth in NAIA singles.
"Charlene has been more professional with her preparation and study of the game," Green said. "She has been listening and more accepting of the coaching and applying it directly on the court. She has stepped up her game big-time."
This is Goreau's third ITA honor. She was All-America and Region IV Rookie of the Year in 2015-16.
Borodii, a freshman from Zapozizhzhia, Ukraine, is 15-0 in singles — winning all those matches on the first court — and 15-4 in doubles with 10 victories in her last 11 decisions with Yi Chen Pao. Borodii is the only Gold Nugget ever to achieve top-3 national rankings in singles (No. 2) and doubles (No. 3).
"Mariia is the Nuggets' hardest worker," Green said, "and as a result her teammates have tried to match her work ethic."
The Gold Nuggets (17-7), ranked and seeded third, have a first-round tournament bye and will play SCAD Savannah or Cumberlands in the round of 16 at 9 a.m. Wednesday at Copeland-Cox Mobile Tennis Center.
Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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