BATON ROUGE — The No. 19-ranked LSU men’s tennis team was voted to finish second in the Southeastern Conference Western Division by the league’s men’s tennis coaches, the conference office announced Wednesday.
The preseason poll is voted on by the SEC men’s tennis coaches and is based on a 6-5-4-3-2-1 count.
Ole Miss, ranked fifth nationally, was chosen as the west and conference champion.
Following Ole Miss and LSU, Alabama came in third with Auburn in the fourth spot. Mississippi State and Arkansas rounded out the list at fifth and sixth, respectively.
The defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs were picked to finish in the top spot of the SEC East. After Georgia, in order, are Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
The Tigers have seven letterwinners returning, including seniors Kevin Dessauer, Colt Gaston and Jan Zelezny.
Dessauer was chosen as team captain after being named the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year and receiving second-team ALL SEC honors. Gaston received doubles ITA All-American honors after he and then partner Danny Bryan reached the NCAA quarterfinals. Zelezny owned a team-best 8-3 record in conference play last season.
LSU will open 2008 on Friday by hosting the SEC Coaches Indoor Championships for the second-consecutive year at the Health Club at the Hilton in New Orleans.
SEC Men’s Tennis Preseason Coaches Poll
Eastern Division
1. Georgia 64
2. Florida 51
3. Tennessee 49
4. Kentucky 31
5. South Carolina 19
6. Vanderbilt 17
Western Division
1. Ole Miss 66
2. LSU 49
3. Alabama 46
4. Auburn 29
5. Mississippi State 26
6. Arkansas 15