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.
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| Uriah Miller photo courtesy of Rochester Athletic Communications |
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 | |||||
