BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s tennis media guide was selected as the top tennis guide in the nation for the second straight year, it was announced by the College Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA) in the organization’s yearly contest.
The 64-page media guide was written and edited by sports information intern Alex Restrepo and designed by publications student assistant Ashley Durand and publications director Jason Feirman with photography by staff photographers Steve Franz, Feirman and Restrepo.
The No. 1 billing marks the second time an LSU media guide was voted the nation’s best this year as the women’s basketball media guide was also picked as the best in its class.
“This award showcases the quality of work behind the scenes that goes in our sports information department,” LSU men’s tennis head coach Jeff Brown said. “Our sports information department operates at a very high level and we are happy for their award.”
This year’s guide cover features action shots of all 13 LSU men’s tennis players with the team’s logo as the centerpiece.
The guide serves as a comprehensive source of up-to-date information on the 2007-08 team, including bios, records and history through the 88 years of the program.
The guide’s top accolade is one of many honors for this year’s team. The Tigers received some of the nation’s top awards in athletics, academics and community service this season.
Junior Michael Venus and senior Kevin Dessauer received all-Southeastern Conference honors with Venus being named to first team and Dessauer being named to second team.
In academics, the Tigers received a perfect 1000 Academic Progress Rate score for the second straight year and were the only SEC tennis team to earn the prestigious score. Additionally, Dessauer was selected as the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year for the second straight year.
Dessauer showcased the Tigers commitment to community service as he received the Southeast Regional ITA/Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship.
Media guides serve as a source of information to media outlets and fellow sports information offices, as well as a valuable recruiting tool for coaches.
“Having such a high-quality product as one of the first things recruits see about our program really opens their eyes to the environment we have here,” Brown commented.
The judging is based on eight categories including team information, season in review, program history, general information, conference information, graphics and design and editorial. The guides are critiqued by three pre-selected judges from outside organizations.
CoSIDA is an organization that is designed to help SIDs at all levels. The purpose of the organization is to empower its members in their roles as sports information professionals.