Xavier moves up tennis opener by one hour
For immediate release . . . January 26, 2007

NEW ORLEANS — This is the time of the year when tennis coaches keep an eye on the sky and a reliable source for weather information. Xavier University of Louisiana's Alan Green is no exception.

Green has checked Saturday's forecast — an 80-percent chance of rain, according to The Weather Channel — and decided to move up by one hour the starting time of his teams' dual match against Nicholls State.

The Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets will play Nicholls at 10 a.m. Saturday at City Park Tennis Center (1 Palm Dr. in New Orleans). It'll be the opener of Xavier's spring schedule and the first of two duals this weekend. Xavier will travel to Baton Rouge, La., on Sunday for 11 a.m. men's and women's matches at Southern University.

"We're looking forward to the season," said Green, a former Xavier tennis standout who has compiled a dual-match record of 58-22 with the women and 39-25 with the men in three seasons. "We haven't played in duals in over a year. Everyone is excited and ready to get back on the court and see where we fit in with the nation's best teams in the NAIA."

Xavier has fit in nicely during Green's coaching tenure. The women won Gulf Coast Athletic Conference championships in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and qualified for the NAIA National Tournament in 2004 and 2005. The men were the GCAC runner-up in 2003 and 2004, then won the championship in 2005.

Xavier did not compete in 2005-06 because of the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Green's teams returned to the court in September for a pair of Georgia tournaments.

The trip to Southern will be Xavier's only one in the first month of the spring schedule. The Gold Rush will play six consecutive home matches to start February — three against GCAC members Spring Hill, Tougaloo and Belhaven, then three against NCAA Division I opponents Alcorn State, Florida A&M and Prairie View A&M. The Nuggets will play all those opponents except Florida A&M

Xavier's men return four lettermen: senior Thomas Fugate, juniors Vusumzi Kempele and Miroslav Vukicevic and sophomore Terry Richardson. The women's only returning player is junior Dominique Bell, a two-time GCAC Player of the Year and No. 14 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's NAIA fall women's singles rankings released Dec. 1. Bell is the only GCAC player to appear in the rankings.

The March schedule includes a weekend trip to Daytona Beach, Fla., and another to Montgomery, Ala., for the Small College Blue-Gray Tournament. Xavier and City Park will play host to the GCAC Tournament April 13-14 and the NAIA Region XIII Tournament April 20-22.

Both the men's and women's teams of Nicholls State, an NCAA Division I school, are 1-1. They defeated Oral Roberts and lost to Arkansas-Little Rock.

Xavier 2006-07 Men's Tennis Roster
Name                 Ht.   Yr.  Exp.   Hometown
Thomas Fugate       5-10   Sr.   2L    Fairport, N.Y.
Vusumzi Kempele      5-5   Jr.   2L    East London, South Africa
Cameron Knowles      6-4   Fr.   HS    Omaha, Neb.
Mario Myles          6-2   Fr.   HS    Stone Mountain, Ga.
Terry Richardson     5-5   So.   1L    Ellenwood, Ga.
Miroslav Vukicevic   6-2   Jr.   2L    Sombor, Serbia-Montenegro
HEAD COACH: Alan Green (Xavier 2002), fourth season.

Xavier 2006-07 Women's Tennis Roster
Name                 Ht.   Yr.  Exp.   Hometown
Dominique Bell       5-5   Jr.   2L    Jackson, Miss.
Alexandra Broussard  5-9   Fr.   HS    Columbus, Ohio
Angelina Callis      5-3   Fr.   HS    Boston, Mass.
Yuliem Dominguez     5-4   So.   TR    Destrehan, La.
Colleen McArthur     5-6   Fr.   HS    Marietta, Ga.
Jihanna Mughnee      5-6   So.   TR    Charlotte N.C.
Salam Workeneh       5-5   So.   TR    Oakland Calif.
HEAD COACH: Alan Green (Xavier 2002), fourth season.