HOUSTON — The LSU men’s tennis team opens its 2002 fall tournament season on Friday as eight members of the Tigers’ squad will compete in the Continental Airlines Cup Rice Invitational here in Houston, Texas.
“This is an early opportunity for the guys who worked hard in the summer to get ahead in the season,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “It will be a good opportunity for them to get some competitive matches in and it will also give us a chance as a coaching staff to see what some of the new guys will need to work on. It’s good to be getting started early.”
The draw for the 2002 Rice Invitational is comprised of players from LSU, Rice, Texas and Tulsa and will be played in a four-flight singles format along with two doubles flights. The singles matches will begin each morning at 9 a.m. and will be followed by doubles matches beginning at 2:30 p.m.
Competing for the Tigers in this weekend’s three-day event will be juniors Bryan Fisher, Brandon Nicholson and Cory Ross along with sophomores Jason Hazley and Peter Richman. Making their first LSU performances on Friday will be freshmen Rafael Corazza, Frankie Green and Paul White.
Green and Corazza will make their Tiger debuts in the D flight of the singles draw, while White opens against Ramez Qamer of Rice in Flight C.
LSU’s Fisher, who was listed as the 68th-ranked singles player in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association on Tuesday, will face off against Tulsa’s Alejandro Tejerina in the A flight of the singles draw on Friday.
Fisher finished the 2002 season with wins over four top-100 opponents and with an overall singles record of 21-18.
“Bryan (Fisher) had some big wins last season over several ranked players and he was very consistent in his play,” Brown said. “No. 68 is a good place for him to start and it will be something for him to build on this season.
Hopefully, it will give him confidence and he will know that he belongs among some of the nation’s best tennis players.”
Hazley, LSU’s fiery sophomore from Bradenton, Fla., will also compete in the A draw of the singles tournament and is scheduled to face Rice’s Richard Barker in the first round. Hazley ended last season with an impressive 22-18 record as a freshman.
Rounding out the Tigers’ singles competitors in this weekend’s Rice Invitational are Richman and Ross playing in the B flight. They will each face opponents from the University of Texas as Ross will square off against Alastair Jenkins and Richman is scheduled to play Roger Gubser.
“Texas, Tulsa and Rice are all good opponents and are all very solid teams,” said Brown. “All of the matches will be very competitive and we should get a lot out of this weekend.”
The Tigers’ doubles pairs this weekend are Fisher/Richman, Hazley/White, Ross/Nicholson and Green/Corazza.
Singles
First Round Matchups
Flight A
Bryan Fisher (LSU) vs. Alejandro Tejerina (Tulsa), 9 a.m.
Jason Hazley (LSU) vs. Richard Baker (Rice), 11 a.m.
Flight B
Cory Ross (LSU) vs. Alastair Jenkins (Texas), 9 a.m.
Peter Richman (LSU) vs. Roger Gubser (Texas) 11 a.m.
Flight C
Brandon Nicholson (LSU) vs. Jimmy Haney (Texas), 9 a.m.
Paul White (LSU) vs. Ramez Qamer (Rice), 11 a.m.
Flight D
Frankie Green (LSU) vs. Joe Morris (Texas), 9 a.m.
Rafael Corazza (LSU) vs. John Matthews (Tulsa), 11 a.m.
Doubles
First Round Matches
Flight A
Hazley/White (LSU) vs. Barker/Rajevac (Rice), 2:30 p.m.
Fisher/Richman (LSU) vs. Haney/Stroer (Texas), 2:30 p.m.
Flight B
Nicholson/Ross (LSU) vs. Robb/Navinkov (Rice), 2:30 p.m.
Corazza/Green (LSU) vs. Morita/Qamer (Rice), 2:30 p.m.