CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Five LSU players will begin the pre-qualifying rounds Friday in the biggest individual tournament in NCAA tennis, the ITA All-American Championships.
“This tournament has every team, basically in the nation,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “We will get to see every team compete against a super-strong field. It should let us know where we are as a team.
Juniors Mark Growcott and Paul White received first-round byes and will play their first matches tomorrow afternoon. Danny Bryan, Colt Gaston and Kevin Dessauer will play first round matches in the morning.
In doubles, Bryan and Gaston will team up in the pre-qualifying rounds, as will White and Dessauer.
“I would like to see one of these guys have a breakthrough tournament,” Brown said. “They have a chance to show the work they have done since the last tournament has paid off and that they have made strides toward getting in or moving up in the lineup.”
Jason Hazley, Peter Richman and Ken Skupski will join their teammates in Chattanooga later this week for the qualifying singles and doubles rounds. Skupski, who was ranked No. 18 in the ITA Preseason Singles poll, will begin the main draw singles tournament Thursday.