BATON ROUGE — LSU men’s tennis players Danny Bryan, Colt Gaston and Ken Skupski received All-American honors for the 2007 season, it was announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Friday.
It marks the fourth time in team history that three Tigers earned All-American honors in the same year. The feat also happened in 1993, 1989 and 1988.
The achievement is the first for Bryan and Gaston, while it marks the third time for Skupski.
“These three guys have worked extremely hard in a very competitive environment,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “They have strong work ethic that has allowed them to improve every day in practice. They were consistently pushing each other and helping one another reach their potential. They showed throughout the season the physical and mental skills to flourish in competitive situations.”
Players earn ITA All-American honors in singles and/or doubles based on their final ITA ranking, seeding at the NCAA Championships and/or advancement at the NCAA Championships.
Bryan and Gaston received doubles honors, while Skupski was recognized for his singles performance.
Of the 37 players to receive All-Americans honors, 12 are from the Southeastern Conference. Along with LSU, Georgia and Ole Miss tied for the most players selected with three each.
The ITA also released final individual rankings on Friday. In singles, Skupski jumped to No. 20. Bryan is listed at No. 40, while Kevin Dessauer came in at No. 92.
The Tigers represent two teams in the top 25 in the final doubles rankings. Bryan and Gaston finish the season with a No. 6 ranking. Skupski and James Cluskey are listed at No. 24.
The team finished the season at No. 15.
Bryan and Gaston took home All-American honors after posting an outstanding 24-4 record and reaching the NCAA Quarterfinals held in Athens, Ga. The Tiger tandem won the SEC Indoor Doubles Championship in January.
Skupski was named a singles All-American for the second time in his career after he had a strong run in the NCAA Singles Tournament. The Liverpool, England native knocked off No. 10 Todd Paul and No. 37 Bojan Szumanski in the first two rounds before falling to top-seeded John Isner of Georgia in the Round of 16.
“This is a great honor for us three, especially for Danny and I being seniors,” Skupski said. “I had an up and down season but I am glad I was able to finish strong and go out with a bang in Athens.”
2007 ITA All-Americans
Mariusz Adamski Wake Forest (D)
Kevin Anderson Illinois (S, D)
Joey Atas Duke (D)
Stephen Bass Notre Dame (S)
Andre Begemann Pepperdine (S)
Marco Born Middle Tennessee (D)
Arnau Brugues Tulsa (S)
Danny Bryan LSU (D)
Eric Claesson Mississippi (D)
Josh Cohen Miami (Fla.) (D)
Luigi D’Agord Miami (Fla.) (S, D)
Somdev Devvarman Virginia (S, D)
Luis Flores Georgia (S, D)
Colt Gaston LSU (D)
David Goulet Duke (D)
Travis Helgeson Georgia (S)
Kaden Hensel Tennessee (S)
Adam Homstrom Denver (S)
Treat Huey Virginia (D)
Brian Hung Michigan (D)
John Isner Georgia (S, D)
Benjamin Kohlloeffel UCLA (S)
Bryan Koniecko Ohio State (S)
Jesse Levine Florida (S, D)
Matko Maravic Michigan (D)
Steven Moneke Ohio State (S)
Greg Ouellette Florida (S, D)
Todd Paul Wake Forest (S, D)
Lars Poerschke Baylor (S)
Robbye Poole Mississippi (S)
Ryan Rowe Illinois (S, D)
Luke Shields Boise State (S)
Andreas Siljestrom Middle Tennessee (D)
Ken Skupski LSU (S)
Alex Slovic Washington (S)
Erling Tveit Mississippi (S, D)
Daniel Vallverdu Miami (Fla.) (S)
(S) ? Singles
(D) ? Doubles