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Tennis' Booras, Bryan Receive ITA National Awards

by LSUsports.net (@LSUsports)
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Tennis' Booras, Bryan Receive ITA National Awards

ATHENS, Ga. — LSU associate head coach Mark Booras and senior Danny Bryan of the LSU men’s tennis team received two of the nine prestigious awards handed out by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Tuesday afternoon at the University of Georgia.

Booras was named ITA Assistant Coach of the Year and Bryan received the ITA/Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship. They were both nominated for their award after winning the same award for the southeast region.

Booras, a Chicago native, is in his ninth season at LSU and has been named the Southeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year two times (2004, 2007) during his career.

“This is a tremendous honor to receive from my peers,” Booras said. “I want to thank Jeff Brown and LSU for giving me the opportunity to work at a first class university.”

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.

“It’s a great honor and very humbling to get an award that has Arthur Ashe’s name on it,” Bryan said. “It’s nice that the coaches thought of me in such high regard. I want to thank my family for always supporting me and teaching me the importance of sportsmanship.”

This season, Booras and Brown have led the Tigers to an 18-7 record and to the NCAA round of 16. 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 is currently ranked No. 4 in doubles, with partner Colt Gaston, and No. 32 in singles. The first-team All SEC selection has compiled 26 wins in singles and doubles, which are both team bests.  

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.

Bryan will participate in the NCAA Individual Tournament in both singles and doubles, which begins Wednesday at 9 a.m. EDT.

Men’s Tennis ITA Award Winners:
Wilson/ITA National Coach of the Year ? to be announced later this week
ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year ? Mark Booras of LSU
ITA/Farnsworth National Senior Player of the Year ? John Isner of Georgia
ITA National Rookie of the Year ? Jesse Levine of Florida
ITA National Player to Watch – Kevin Anderson of Illinois
ITA/Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award – Somdev Devvarman of Virginia
ITA/Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship ? Danny Bryan of LSU
ITA/John Van Nostrand Memorial Award ? Stephen Bass of Notre Dame