Tennis opens fall schedule at HBCU Championships

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana tennis will be in Atlanta Thursday for its first competition of 2019-20, the HBCU National Championships.
     
XULA is the defending women's champion and finished second in the men's division a year ago. The three-day event will employ a pair of venues: Sugar Creek Golf and Tennis Club in Atlanta and Woodward Academy in suburban College Park, Ga.
     
Coach Alan Green has six newcomers — four men and two women. Joining the Gold Rush are:

     •  Juan Batalla, a 6-foot-1 freshman from Mexico City and Laurel Springs (Calif.) High School. Batalla is a business major at XULA. He has won 20 singles championships, including an ITF tournament in Caracas in 2016, and his Universal Tennis Rating has been as high as 13.04. (The current men's collegiate leader, Baylor's Jenson Brooksby, is at 14.87.)
     •  Guillermo Coiras, a 5-11 freshman from Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. Coiras is still deciding on his major.
     •  Uriah Miller, a 5-11 sophomore from Sicklerville, N.J., and Timber Creek Regional High School. A transfer from NCAA Division III Rochester, Miller is a chemistry / pre-medical major. He was 5-2 in singles and 2-2 in doubles for Rochester.
     •  Sebastian Perez, a 5-11 sophomore from Pereira, Colombia. A transfer from two-year Onondaga Community College, Perez is a business major. He was the NJCAA Division III national doubles champion with Jeremy Attrill and the singles runner-up last season. Perez is the older brother of Santiago Perez, a XULA sophomore and the 2019 ITA/NAIA National Men's Rookie of the Year.
     

Uriah Miller
photo courtesy of Rochester Athletic Communications

New to the Gold Nuggets is Lindsey Dixon, a 5-8 freshman from Savannah, Ga., and Savannah Christian Preparatory School. Dixon is is a biochemistry / pre-medical major. As a junior in 2018, Dixon was the Savannah Morning News Player of the Year. Her ACT score was 31.
     
Also new to the XULA women is Lailaa Bashir of Jackson, Miss. Her signing was announced in May.
     
XULA will compete in five women's tournaments and three men's tournaments during the fall semester. City Park / Pepsi Tennis Center and XULA Tennis Center will play host to the ITA NAIA South Regional Championships Sept. 20-22.

2019-20 XULA Men's Tennis Newcomers
Name	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.*	Hometown	High School (Previous College)
Juan Batalla	6-1	158	Fr.	Mexico City, Mexico	Laurel Springs
Guillermo Coiras	5-11	165	Fr.	Jerez de la Frontera, Spain	El Altillo School
Uriah Miller	5-11	165	So.	Sicklerville, N.J.	Timber Creek (Rochester)
Sebastian Perez	5-11	153	So.	Pereira, Colombia	Liceo Cartago (Onondaga CC)

2019-20 XULA Women's Tennis Newcomers
Name	Ht.	Yr.*	Hometown	High School (Previous College)
Lailaa Bashir	5-6	Fr.	Jackson, Miss.	Jackson Academy
Lindsey Dixon	5-8	Fr.	Savannah, Ga.	Savannah Christian Preparatory School
* XULA athletic classification in 2019-20 Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications Department of Athletics & Recreation XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA  XULAgold.com twitter.com/xulagold www.facebook.com/xulagold