BATON ROUGE — Ajay Ramaswami, the senior leader of the LSU men’s tennis team, was named the eighth-ranked singles player in the nation on Wednesday as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s individual rankings were released.
“This ranking is a reflection of how extremely hard Ajay worked during the fall,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “He is one of the best at keeping up with his strength and conditioning, as well as his training, and it is all starting to pay off for him.”
Ramaswami accumulated a 14-4 record during the fall season, and defeated seven of the 10 ranked opponents that he faced. His junior teammate, Jesse Smatt, compiled a 9-5 record in the fall competition, and was rewarded by being ranked 63rd in the nation.
As a doubles team, Smatt/Ramaswami accounted for one of the four Tiger pairs that received a position in the ITA doubles rankings by being voted as the No. 31 duo in the nation. The highest-ranked combination for the Tigers is the pair of talented freshmen, Sebastian Rutka and Bryan Fisher, who came in at No. 14.
Rutka and Fisher were actually each ranked again in doubles, but with different Tiger partners. As a team, Dan Kiernan and Rutka earned the No. 33 ranking, while Fisher and Smatt were named as the 41st-ranked team in the nation.
“We have some very talented doubles teams again this season,” Brown said. “Anytime you have four pairs ranked nationally, it is a good situation, but now I just have to figure out how to maximize their talents.”
In the women’s individual rankings, the Lady Tigers’ Bruna Colosio was ranked 44th in the nation despite only playing in two matches during the fall due to an injured shoulder. She had previously been the sixth-ranked singles player in the nation.
“Bruna’s injury this fall hurt her ranking a little bit, but she has come a long way,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “Her rehab is going extremely well, and I think that she is actually going to be a stronger player when spring competition starts. She will make her way back into the nation’s elite.”
The LSU men’s tennis team will next be in action January 18-21, at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships in Atlanta, Ga., while the Lady Tigers’ next competition will be January 19-22, at the Georgia Invitational in Athens, Ga.