Dominic Modise to head Bishop tennis and cross country programs

Rocky Mount, NC - The North Carolina Wesleyan Department of Athletics is pleased to announce that Dominic Modise has been named head coach of its cross country and tennis programs.  Modise assumes his role with the Bishops after serving as assistant women’s tennis coach at the University of Colorado during the 2006-07 season.

Last year, 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 dual season (16-8) and in the conference (9-2) were school-bests since 1999.

Among his responsibilities, Modise assisted at the No. 4, 5, and 6 singles positions. All three slots were a combined 65-26 overall, 47-21 in dual play, and 22-10 in conference action. He also coached the No. 3 doubles tandem of Melisa Esposito and Martina Sedivec to a position championship in conference play with a perfect 9-0 record.         

Before joining the Colorado 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 prestigious Privateers fundraising tournament.

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.

Modise has also been involved with fundraising through the annual Legg Mason and the ATP Tour Futures Tournaments. 

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, including Top-100 players Cecil Mammit and Andre Sa.  Modise is anxious to take the reigns of the men’s and women’s 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 Honolulu in the 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.