HOUSTON — The LSU men’s tennis team opens the 2006 fall season Friday at the Courtyard by Marriot/Rice Invitational, marking the fourth straight year the Tigers will begin the season at this event.
“The team realizes the importance of playing these fall tournaments,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “We have to make a statement and push ourselves in the rankings heading into the regular season.”
The three-day tournament will be Jan Zelezny‘s debut as a Tiger. The Czech Republic native transferred to LSU from Colorado after the university canceled its tennis program. Confident in Zelezny’s skills, Brown has placed him in the No. 2 position for the singles portion of the tournament.
“We are excited to get a chance to see Jan play,” Brown commented. “We saw him play last year and he has great speed, which makes it difficult for opponents to finish points against him.”
Returning Tigers participating in the tournament include seniors Danny Bryan and Eric DeRoche, juniors Martel Campbell and Kevin Dessauer and sophomore James Cluskey.
All Tigers in attendance are scheduled to participate in singles competition, while the doubles portion will feature Bryan and Dessauer along with Zelezny and Cluskey in the first bracket and DeRoche and Campbell in the second bracket.
“This year we have a real nice blend of styles of play with our guys,” Brown said. “We have some real aggressive players who like to work the front and some fast guys that can work the baseline and get some key points. Having this flexibility will allow us to match up better with teams we struggled with in the past.”
LSU finished last season at No. 25 in the ITA national rankings. The Tigers have finished in the Top 25 eight out of the nine years under Brown.
“Last year we were able to finish in the Top 25 which is great, but we are shooting for higher,” Brown said. “I don’t think we reached our full potential last year and our guys know that and they are determined to reach higher goals this season.”