Tennis standout Mike Green re-enrolls at Xavier
January 14, 2009

     NEW ORLEANS — Mike Green finally will get his chance to play tennis for Xavier University of Louisiana.
     Green has re-enrolled at Xavier for the spring 2009 semester and will complete his collegiate eligibility this season. Coach Alan Green — no relation — expects the Port Lucie, Fla., resident and Barnabas Christian Academy graduate to bolster a roster which includes five returning lettermen from the 2007-08 team, which won a third consecutive Gulf Coast Athletic Conference championship and achieved its highest final ranking, 17th, in the NAIA coaches poll.
     "Mike transferred to Xavier for the 2005-06 year, but then Hurricane Katrina hit and we canceled athletics for the year," Alan Green said. "But Mike came back to Xavier in January 2006 when the school reopened and continued his education. He left Xavier for personal reasons (in August 2006) after completing two semesters, but he left the university in good academic standing.
     "Mike was interested in returning to Xavier and completing his education. So we think this will be a great fit."
     Mike Green competed for Alabama in 2003-04 and Savannah Art and Design in 2004-05, where he was 13th in singles and 14th in doubles in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's final NAIA rankings. In junior tennis he ranked as high as No. 4 in Florida and No. 18 nationally in his age group, and he was 38th in the final USTA boys 18 singles ranking of 2003. He was the winner of the 1999 Texas Open National tournament and the 2001 Florida Sectional Doubles Championships.
     The Gold Rush, 15-9 in dual matches this past season, will begin its 2009 schedule at Nicholls State at 1 p.m. on Jan. 31.