Dominic Modise was named head coach of the NC Wesleyan men’s and women’s tennis programs in the summer of 2007. In just one year at the helm, he has already produced the first winning season in men’s tennis since 1976, as well as four All-Conference performers (three male, one female), the 2008 USA South Rookie of the Year (Saari), and two regionally-ranked players (Saari & Rumyantsev).
Modise assumed his role with the Battling Bishops after serving as assistant women’s tennis coach at the University of Colorado during the 2006-07 season. Modise helped the Buffaloes achieve one of the most exciting seasons in the program’s history as they earned an NCAA Tournament berth and a third place finish in the Big 12 Conference. Both overall records during the regular season (16-8) and in the conference (9-2) were school-bests since 1999.
Before joining the Buffalo staff, Modise spent two years as head coach at Nicholls State University (Thibodaux, La.) rebuilding the men’s tennis program after a 15-year absence. He guided NSU to the conference tournament for the first time in school history and coached the team to a top-five league finish with only two scholarship student-athletes. He was responsible for the day-to-day operation of the tennis program, including recruiting, budget, traveling, and fundraising.
Prior to his successful efforts at Nicholls State, Modise was the assistant men’s and women’s tennis coach at the University of New Orleans. There he coached a pair of women to national recognition among the elite Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Top-100 rankings and guided both programs to top-five finishes in the Sun Belt Conference. Additionally, Modise helped raise $15,000 to benefit the tennis programs and assisted with Children’s Wish and the Privateers fundraising tournament. He has also been involved with fundraising through Legg Mason and the ATP Tour Futures Tournaments.
It was during his stint at New Orleans that Modise gained notoriety as an accomplished runner. Undergoing intensive training, he competed in two marathons: the Great Mississippi River Relay Race (50K, 5-person teams) and the Ole Man River Half-Marathon (13.5K). Led by Modise, his Privateer relay team took first place among 29 teams in the River Relay, while as an individual, he finished 14th among 276 runners in the half-marathon.
From 2000-02, Modise was the interim head coach University of Louisiana, Lafayette. At ULL, he helped the Lady Cajuns reach a Top-75 national ranking and led the team to its best finish in school history. During his tenure, he coached one of his women’s players to a national ranking of No. 111, the highest ranking of any ULL tennis student-athlete in school history.
With solid coaching credentials under his belt, he has worked with some of the top players in the world as a tennis instructor at Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida. Modise is honored to take the reigns of the tennis programs at Wesleyan, as well as a young women’s cross country squad.
“A head coach must have great organizational skills, as well as the ability to work with others and motivate them,” he said. “It is my pleasure to perform these tasks within the Athletics Department at North Carolina Wesleyan and be part of the community in Rocky Mount.”
Modise earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in December of 1999. In 2003, he earned his masters degree in human performance with a concentration in sport management from the University of New Orleans.
During his collegiate playing days at Central Alabama Community College where he earned his associates degree in 1997, Modise excelled on the court ranking among the Top-20 in the NJCAA singles rankings and was nominated as a NJCAA Player to Watch. He was voted the Most Inspirational and the Most Valuable Player by his teammates. In the classroom, Modise was named an All-WAC scholar athlete.
Originally from South Africa, Modise speaks four languages: English, Dutch, Tswana and Zulu.
