BATON ROUGE — LSU men’s tennis player Tom Hand was given the ITA Region III Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sportsmanship and Leadership Award, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced Thursday.
Hand currently leads the team in wins with 34 on the season and is in his third season as a team captain. In each of the past two seasons, he has led LSU to SEC Championships and the Final Four.
This year, Hand has led the Tigers to only the third No. 1 ranking in school history as well as an 18-5 overall record. He will be playing No. 2 singles this weekend when LSU begins the NCAA Tournament in Baton Rouge as the 11th-seed.
It marks the first time an LSU player has won the award named for the former tennis great.
Hand is one of eight regional winners that have a chance to win the national award announced next week at the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga.