Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Tennis Signs Division I Transfer
07/15/2003 | 12:00:00 | Men's Tennis
July 15, 2003
By Josh Magill
Saluki Media Services
Carbondale, Ill. - Men's tennis head coach Missy Jeffrey recently announced that she has signed Alexandru Nomicos, a Division I transfer from the University of Oklahoma. Adding a player with college experience should be key in helping SIU return to championship status.
"Alexandru is experienced and successful against teams we need to earn wins over," said Jeffrey. "He is a very solid player coming from a nationally ranked school."
Nomicos hails from Romania where he was ranked fourth in junior competition, and was a semifinalist in the Romanian National Championships. He also ranked close to 400 in the ITF Junior World Rankings.
His college career at the University of Oklahoma has allowed him experience in the prestigious Big 12 conference facing opponents from many nationally ranked schools. Nomicos has defeated players from Nebraska, Michigan State (#57), Tulane (#14), Colorado, Oklahoma State (#19), Texas A&M (#11), and Ohio State (#17).
Nomicos, a baseliner, grabbed a 19-11 (.633) singles record at the No. 6 position during his freshman season at Oklahoma, becoming the runner-up at the Big 12 Individual Championships. He went 15-15 at the Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6 spots in his sophomore year for a .500 winning percentage. Nomicos was 4-3 in doubles action his sophomore season.
"I expect him to be very successful in the top half of our line-up," says Jeffrey. "With Alexandru, we have six solid players for this fall. We have the make-up for a great year."
Academically Nomicos shines, having received the Jay Myers Outstanding Freshman Award in 2001, and being named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team as a sophomore. Nomicos brings a cumulative GPA of 3.944 to SIU and has two years of tennis eligibility remaining.
