BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s tennis team will open the 2009 season ranked No. 19 for the second-straight season as well as have the second ranked singles player in the country, Michael Venus, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced Tuesday.
The Tigers completed last season with a final ITA rank of No. 18 after posting a 15-9 record and reaching the NCAA round of 32.
In addition to earning the nation’s No. 2 spot in singles, Venus appeared at the top spot in the ITA’s Southeast Regional rankings. Senior James Cluskey joins Venus in the singles regional rankings at No. 24 and the duo of Cluskey and Venus hold the No. 12 doubles regional ranking as well.
“This season is off to a quicker start than usual,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “We have to use the first few weeks of practice with intensity because there is no time to waste. We are excited about the returning players and Venus being ranked at No. 2.”
Fifteen of the 17 regular season matches on the Tigers’ 2009 schedule are against ranked opponents, five of which are top-10 teams.
LSU will open 2009 at the SEC Indoor Championships in Lexington, Ky. scheduled for Jan. 16-19.