NCAA D-I transfers Hooper, Howell join Gold Nuggets
Saturday, 01/29/2011
NEW ORLEANS -- Women's tennis players Yazmin Hooper of Corona, Calif., and Kourtney Howell of Cypress, Texas, have transferred to Xavier University of Louisiana from NCAA Division I schools and signed athletic scholarships.
Hooper, a 2009 graduate of Corona's Santiago High School, transferred from Howard University. Howell, a 2010 graduate of Cypress Woods High School, transferred from the U.S. Naval Academy.
Hooper, a left-hander, was a California Bowl girls 16 singles champion and helped Santiago win a league championship her junior season.
Howell, a right-hander, was nationally ranked in singles and doubles as a junior player, reaching 36th in singles in the age-12 division and third in doubles in the 14s. At Cypress Woods she placed third in Class AAAAA in singles and mixed doubles.
Both are biology/pre-medical majors at Xavier. Hooper is eligible this spring, but Howell is not because she competed for Navy during the fall.
XU's women will play their first dual match of the spring semester at 10 a.m. Saturday at Tulane. The Gold Nuggets have been ranked in every NAIA top 25 since February 2004.
