BATON ROUGE — LSU junior women’s tennis player, Bruna Colosio, will begin the 2000-01 season as the sixth-ranked player in the nation according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s pre-season poll.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment for Bruna,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “She is in an elite category and hopefully she can sustain the ranking, or more likely improve upon it this season.”
Colosio, who is origionally from Cascaval, Brazil, earned double All-American honors last season by finishing as the ninth-ranked singles player in the nation and a member of the fourth-ranked doubles team.
With the No. 6 ranking, Colosio became the highest-ranked women’s tennis player in the history of LSU. She ended her sophomore season by advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championships, and finished the year with a 38-9 overall record and a 22-3 mark in dual matches.
“Bruna did an awesome job last season,” Minnis said. “She made tremendous strides as a player during the offseason, and I’m looking forward to seeing what she can accomplish this season.”
In doubles, the combination of Colosio and Lauren Haddix will begin the season as the 27th-ranked doubles team in the nation. The duo has never played a doubles competiton together, but Coach Minnis is optimistic about their chances.
“Lauren and Bruna will make a great doubles team this season. Bruna has been one of the best doubles players in the nation for awhile now, and Lauren gained a lot of respect last season as a freshman.”
Haddix, a sophomore from Charleston, West Virginia, accumulated an overall record of 24-13 last season while playing primarily No. 5 singles. She teamed up with Tami Botts at No. 3 doubles, where they ended the season with a 4-5 record.
Both No. 6 Bruna Colosio and Lauren Haddix will open the 2000 fall season Tuesday, September 19, at the 2000 T. Rowe Price National Intercollegiate Clay Court Championships at the Suburban Club in Baltimore, Maryland.
Haddix will compete in the singles qualifying round Tuesday morning and along with Colosio in the doubles qualifying tournament Tuesday afternoon, while Colosio will begin her singles play Thursday in the main draw of the competition.