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Booras, Bryan Receive ITA Regional Honors

by LSUsports.net (@LSUsports)
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Booras, Bryan Receive ITA Regional Honors

BATON ROUGE — Associate head coach Mark Booras and senior Danny Bryan of the LSU men’s tennis team were honored by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association in its regional awards announced on Monday.

Booras was named the Southeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year. Bryan received the Southeast Region Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship.

Booras is receiving this honor for the second time as he also won it during the 2004 season. 

“This is a great honor, especially in a region that is filled with great coaches,” Booras said. “It is nice to be recognized by my peers in this way. I want to thank head coach Jeff Brown for giving me the opportunity to coach at LSU and work with a great group of players.”

This season, Booras and Brown have led the Tigers to an 18-6 record and to the NCAA round of 16, which begins Thursday. Booras’ leadership off the court was showcased when the Tigers were honored by the NCAA this season for its latest Academic Progress Rate score. The Tigers scored a perfect APR of 1000 in the report by the NCAA. 

Bryan received the Arthur Ashe Award for the high level of sportsmanship he displays on the court and for his outstanding work in the Baton Rouge community. The Award goes to a player who has exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements.

Bryan, who was recently named the LSU Male Athlete Volunteer of the Year, has participated in numerous community service projects.

During Christmas, Bryan spearheaded a toy drive where he and his teammates raised money to get a local underprivileged child clothes and toys for Christmas. He participated in “Jump Rope for Heart,” an event that raises money in the community for heart disease and stroke, which are America’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers. Bryan helped fourth graders at the school on the jump rope skills station.  He explained the different jumps and helped the students record their numbers. Bryan has made a number of visits to children hospitals where he visited the children to cheer them up while they were in the hospital. He spoke with the children, signed autographs and passed out LSU temporary tattoos.

Booras, Bryan and the rest of the Tigers left Monday morning for the NCAA round of 16 in Athens, Ga. The Tigers will battle the No. 2-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes on Thursday at 11 a.m.