KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — LSU men’s tennis player, Dan Kiernan, was named to the All-Southeastern Conference’s second-team on Wednesday, as the conference’s annual awards were announced here at the SEC Tournament banquet in Knoxville, Tenn.
“It’s a great honor to be recognized for all of the hard work that I’ve put in this season,” said Kiernan. “It’s a great honor to be named along side of all of these other outstanding players and hopefully I’ll be able to take this confidence into our match tomorrow.”
LSU’s senior from Newcastle, England, is currently the 51st-ranked singles player in the nation and owns a 19-14 overall record this season. Kiernan finished the regular season with a 12-8 dual-match record and has defeated seven top-100 opponents this season.
Kiernan jumped 38 spots in the latest Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings after knocking off Ole Miss’ 17th-ranked Alex Hartman, 7-5, 6-4, and No. 32 Oggie Kolev of Arkansas, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, during the last two weeks. Kiernan’s crucial win against Kolev helped lead LSU to its 4-3 upset victory over 21st-ranked Arkansas.
The SEC’s individual awards were also handed out on Wednesday. Florida’s Andy Jackson was named the Coach of the Year, Georgia’s Matias Boeker for Player of the Year and Kentucky’s Jesse Witten garnered the Freshman of the Year Award. Voted on by the league’s coaches, Jackson notched his second Coach of the Year accolade after taking the honor in 1991 with Mississippi State.
Boeker is currently the fourth-ranked singles player in the nation and finished with a 17-3 dual-match record. He led Georgia to the 2002 SEC regular season championship with a 9-1 record against conference opponents, Kentucky’s Witten earned the SEC Freshman of the Year Award by finishing 16-6 in dual-match play. He is also the No. 7-ranked singles player and finished the regular season with a 6-5 mark in the SEC.
Kiernan and the LSU men’s tennis team will be in action on Thursday at 8 a.m. (Eastern) as the Tigers challenge the 16th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in opening-round action at the 2002 SEC Tournament in Knoxville, Tenn.
2002 SEC Men’s Tennis Awards
First-Team All-SEC
Singles
Rameez Junaid, Auburn
Matias Boeker, Georgia
Brandon Wagner, Georgia
Jesse Witten, Kentucky
Romain Ambert, Mississippi State
Peter Handoyo, Tennessee
Mario Toledo, Tennessee
Bobby Reynolds, Vanderbilt
Doubles
Tiago Ruffoni, Auburn
Andrew Columbo, Auburn
Hamid Mirzadeh, Florida
Chris McDonald, Florida
Second-Team All-SEC
Singles
Maxim Belski, Alabama
Oggie Kolev, Arkansas
Lesley Joseph, Georgia
Karim Benmansour, Kentucky
Daniel Kiernan, LSU
Alex Hartman, Ole Miss
Kristofer Stahlberg, Ole Miss
Seth Rose, South Carolina
Doubles
Simon Rea, Tennessee
Bo Hodge, Georgia
Bobby Reynold, Vanderbilt
Lewis Smith, Vanderbilt
SEC Coach of the Year
Andy Jackson, Florida
SEC Player of the Year
Matias Boeker, Georgia
SEC Freshman of the Year
Jesse Witten, Kentucky