Court Comeback for Men's Tennis

Green Wave men's tennis, back on its home court for the first time since 2005, swept a dual match against Centenary College, 7-0, at the Goldring Tennis Center on the uptown campus on Saturday (Jan. 23).

The men's tennis team, along with seven other Tulane athletic programs, suspended operations in the fall of 2005 following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Saturday's festivities included a special ceremony welcoming the team back to Tulane along with head men's tennis coach Mark Booras.

"On the court you could feel the nervousness of the guys and the excitement," said Booras, who was hired in July 2008 to lead the team's comeback. "We have known for a while that this was going to happen and it finally happened today. It was really a great atmosphere."

The match with Centenary marked the first home event for the Tulane tennis program since hosting the University of Louisiana-Lafayette on April 10, 2005, when the Green Wave defeated the Ragin' Cajuns, 4-0.

"We have a great group of guys and they all understand the importance of what's going on," Booras said. "They're thankful that they get to be a part of this rebuilding opportunity and they want to lead Tulane down that road to recovery and back into national prominence."

Tulane fields a roster of eight players that includes seven first-year student-athletes and one sophomore. The Green Wave did return to action this past fall in tournament play. Tulane posted a 24-39 singles record and an 11-15 double mark in four tournaments played out of town.

Tulane will host Troy University on Saturday (Jan. 30) at noon CST at the Goldring Tennis Center.