For 2nd time in 3 years, XU's Green is state Coach of the Year

Hassan Abbas

Zach Taylor

Coach Alan Green

NEW ORLEANS — For the second time in three years, Xavier University of Louisiana's Alan Green is Coach of the Year on the All-Louisiana men's tennis team selected by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

The team, announced late Saturday, includes two Xavier players. Senior Hassan Abbas made the first team, and junior Zach Taylor is on the second team.

Green, a New Orleans native in his eighth season at Xavier, led the Gold Rush to a 13-9 record, a third consecutive berth in the NAIA National Championship, the program's first top-10 ranking and the first victory against a top-10 NAIA opponent — 6-3 at Vanguard on March 4. XU had five victories against teams in the final NAIA coaches poll and two victories vs. NCAA Division I. All the losses were to ranked NAIA opponents or D-I.

This was the first Xavier team in any sport to be ranked in the top 10 of a final NAIA poll since women's basketball in 1997-98. XU was top 10 in four of the last five polls.

Abbas, from Saltaire, England, and a graduate of Bingley Grammar School and Ventura (Calif.) College, is the first XU men's tennis player to make the All-Louisiana first team twice or in consecutive seasons. Abbas was 15-6 in singles and 15-8 doubles this season and was 31st in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association/NAIA singles rankings.

Taylor, from Monroe, La., and a graduate of St. Frederick High School and Ventura College, was 11-10 in singles and 15-8 in doubles. He was 24th in ITA/NAIA singles rankings. Taylor and Abbas are 15th nationally in doubles.

2010-11 All-Louisiana Collegiate Men's Tennis Team

First Team Name School Class Hometown Idan Mark Tulane So. Santana Hod Hasharon, Israel Neal Skupski LSU Jr. Liverpool, England Sebastian Carlsson LSU Sr. Uppsala, Sweden Dmitry Kozionov Nicholls State So. Ivhevsk, Russia Hassan Abbas Xavier Sr. Saltaire, England Abdelrahman Zaki New Orleans Jr. Egypt Second Team Name School Class Hometown Hossam Meligy New Orleans So. Egypt Julien Gauthier LSU Sr. Repentigny, Canada Joe Young Tulane So. Redlands, Calif. Palash Tiwari Nicholls State So. New Delhi, India Zach Taylor Xavier Jr. Monroe, La. Yanick Mandl Louisiana-Lafayette Jr. Thalwil, Switzerland
Player of the Year:  Neal Skupski, LSU Newcomer of the Year:  Idan Mark, Tulane Freshman of the Year:  Hossam Meligy, New Orleans Coach of the Year:  Alan Green, Xavier

By Ed Cassiere, Xavier University of Louisiana
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

XU's Abbas, Taylor are second-team NAIA All-Americans

Hassan Abbas

Steffen Giles-
Osborn

Zach Taylor

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Hassan Abbas and Zach Taylor were second-team selections on the 2011 NAIA Men's Tennis All-America Teams announced Tuesday.

Earning honorable mention was XU's Steffen Giles-Osborn.

Abbas and Taylor are Xavier's fourth and fifth men's tennis All-Americans of the modern era. Mike Green (2009), Terry Richardson (2009) and Miroslav Vukicevic (2008) also were second-team selections. Abbas, a senior from Saltaire, England, and a graduate of Bingley Grammar School and Ventura (Calif.) College, was 15-6 in singles and 15-8 doubles this season and was 31st in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association/NAIA singles rankings.

Taylor, a junior from Monroe, La., and a graduate of St. Frederick High School and Ventura College, was 11-10 in singles and 15-8 in doubles. He was 24th in ITA/NAIA singles rankings. Taylor and Abbas are 15th nationally in doubles.

Giles-Osborn, a junior from Atlanta, Ga., and a graduate of Westlake High School, was 12-14 in singles and 13-14 in doubles. He was 17th in the South in the ITA/NAIA singles rankings and 15th in the South in doubles with Sean Richardson.

Xavier was 13-9 this season, winning the NAIA Unaffiliated Group 2 Tournament and qualifying for the NAIA National Championship for the third consecutive year. The XU men's No. 8 final ranking was their highest ever.

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

Xavier's Abbas repeats as GCAC Player of the Week

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Hassan Abbas is the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week in men's tennis for the second consecutive time.

Hassan Abbas

Abbas, a senior from Saltaire, England, and a graduate of Bingley Grammar School and Ventura College, won in doubles and singles Saturday in a 4-3 loss at the University of New Orleans, an NCAA Division I member. Abbas and Zach Taylor won 8-6 against Benjamin Bouhana and Hossam Meligy at No. 1 doubles, then Abbas tied the dual at 3 with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) victory against Vinay Kamineni at No. 1 singles.

Abbas — 12-5 in singles and 13-5 in doubles this season — also won the GCAC award for March 7-13. There were no nominees for March 14-20 or March 21-27. Abbas won the award once in 2010.

Xavier's men and women will travel to Hattiesburg, Miss., for duals with William Carey at 10 a.m. Sunday. Xavier's men are 11-7 and ranked eighth in the NAIA.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
Visit: Xavier University of Louisiana
Visit: XULAATHLETICS