Although the Colonels men’s and women’s tennis teams won a combined five matches last year, the season still ended on a positive note when the men’s team advanced to the conference tournament for the first time in over a decade.This season will have many distinct changes with the most notable being the head coaching position. Dominic Modise resigned from his post to take an assistant coaching position at the University of Colorado over the summer.
Athletics director Rob Bernardi said that Modise left the university on good terms and that the department wishes him well in Colorado.
“He did such a great job for the tennis program at Nicholls, and we wish him well in the future,” Bernardi said. “You just hate to lose a guy with that much passion for his sport.”
When Modise joined the Colorado staff, Bernardi had to fill the vacant tennis position rather quickly, but still took the time to bring in a head coach that wanted to continue building on what Modise left behind after he left.
“We had to bring someone in on such a short notice, but we wanted somebody that knew tennis in South Louisiana and internationally,” Bernardi said.
Jim Hunter would happen to be the answer Bernardi was looking for, with over 20 years of coaching experience along with stints at schools located around South Louisiana. “With the experience Jim has, there is no doubt that the players will respond to him,” Bernardi said.
With a large majority of his life spent in the army, Hunter knew that coaching was something that he had wanted to do.
“Although I was in the military for 28 years, I knew I wanted coaching to be in my future,” Hunter said.
Hunter’s career began as an assistant coach while he was still in the military. He got his first coaching position at Southeastern in the 1980s where his team was ranked 28th in the nation. Hunter then retired, but later came out of retirement to coach at the University of New Orleans in 1998. After UNO, Hunter returned to Southeastern as an assistant coach for both men’s and women’s tennis teams that won conference championships.
“I’ve been fortunate to work with so many great players over the years that have gone on to do such great things,” Hunter said. “I hope to have the same success here that I’ve had at other places.”
Modise was Hunter’s protg at UNO, and both remained closely in touch with each other when Modise came to Nicholls. “Dominic and I would talk easily three times a week,” Hunter said. “When I left UNO and went to Southeastern, I would always talk to him about teams in the conference and his team here at Nicholls.”
Hunter’s ties to Nicholls do not end with Modise. He was encouraged to join the Nicholls coaching staff by Bernardi and former associate athletics director Gary Gallup. “Both Gary and Rob are good friends of mine, and I knew taking the job here was a great decision,” Hunter said.
As far as the teams go, Hunter said both squads have work to do, but his goal for now is to keep the players focused on the season’s bigger picture. “Yeah, tennis is important, but I want our players to maintain a 3.0 this semester,” Hunter said. “I don’t want to lose players due to poor grades.
