BATON ROUGE — LSU’s Sebastian Rutka, Bryan Fisher and Jason Hazley were each ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s preseason singles rankings on Monday which highlights the nation’s top collegiate tennis players.
“I think that this is a really huge honor and also sends a big message to these guys,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “It proves that whenever you come in prepared for the summer workouts and work hard during the offseason, that it can have some everlasting benefits for you down the road.”
Rutka, the Tigers’ highly-talented junior from Krakow, Poland, earned the No. 74 singles ranking in the nation on Monday and currently owns an 8-2 overall record on the season. He leads the team in career victories and has accumulated a 47-28 mark in two seasons at LSU.
LSU’s Fisher was also recognized by the ITA on Monday and was given the nation’s No. 101 singles ranking. The junior from Nashville, Tenn., is currently second on the team with 39 career victories and has registered two wins during the 2002-03 campaign.
“With three guys ranked in the ITA preseason poll, it should really be beneficial for us in practice,” Brown said. “The other guys will know that they are playing against someone that has been recognized nationally, and they will step up their game against them.”
The Tigers’ gifted sophomore, Hazley, earned his first career ranking on Monday as he was named the 124th-ranked singles player in the nation. The native of Bradenton, Fla., owns a 6-6 overall record this season despite facing two of the country’s top-50 ranked singles players during fall competition
In the ITA’s preseason rankings, LSU’s doubles combinations of Hazley/Fisher and Rutka and Cory Ross were tabbed among the nation’s best. Hazley and Fisher earned the No. 24 ranking on Monday, while Ross and Rukta were recognized as the 53rd-ranked team in the nation.
“Having two teams ranked in doubles is a very big boost for us as a team,” said Brown. “They will always practice hard against each other in practice and the doubles point is a huge factor in collegiate tennis now. The team that gets the first point is always at an automatic advantage.”
The LSU men’s tennis team will begin its spring season on Thursday, January 16, as the Tigers head to Atlanta, Ga., to compete in the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships beginning at 8 a.m. (CST).