BATON ROUGE — LSU men’s tennis head coach Jeff Brown announced the signing of four prospects for the 2007-08 class this week.
“We have a very talented class coming in next year,” Brown said. “They will take steps towards filling the big shoes left by our three seniors.”
Leading the way for the incoming class is Sebastian Carlsson. Carlsson, a Uppsala, Sweden native, won the Under 21 Swedish Junior Indoor Championship. He is a two-time Swedish Junior Doubles Champion. Carlsson has been ranked in Sweeden’s top 5 since he was 13 years old.
Another highly-touted incoming prospect is Julien Gauthier. A Repentigny, Quebec native, Gauthier was a standout at Georges Vanier High School. Gauthier was the 2005 Junior Tennis Player of the Year in Quebec and was the No. 1-ranked junior player in Canada. He won a remarkable 13 national and provincial titles and was also a member of the Canadian Junior Davis Cup Team.
Coming from Dayton, Ohio, Curt Maddox will be joining the Tigers. Maddox won the 2004 Boy’s 16 Grand Slam Circuit Singles title. The 6-3 incoming freshman also won the 2006 Boy’s 18 Treasure Coast Championship in singles and doubles.
Rounding out the Tigers’ incoming class is Ryan Lissner from Baltimore. Lissner was ranked in the top 15 of USTA Boy’s 16 in both singles and doubles. Additionally, he was ranked in the top 10 of USTA Boy’s 14 in singles. Lissner was named Maryland’s Gatorade High School Rookie of the Year in 2004.
Also joining the Tigers next season is junior Michael Venus. Venus transferred from the University of Texas after sitting out last season. Venus will join the team in January.
As a freshman at Texas, Venus was a key ingredient in leading the University of Texas to the Big 12 Championship as he played at the No. 6 slot throughout the season. Venus compiled a 26-12 overall singles mark and a 21-8 doubles record his freshman year.
Prior to attending the University of Texas, Venus won the 2005 Boys’ 18 National Clay Court Doubles Champion with then partner Andy Orban. Additionally, Venus captured the 2004 Florida 5A Singles Champion and 2003 Florida 5A Singles Runner-Up.
“He is one of the hardest workers I have seen in college tennis,” Brown commented. “He loves the game and he is ultra competitive. He is putting all the pieces together to be successful in the SEC.”
2007-08 LSU Men’s Tennis Signing Class
Name – Hometown:
Sebastian Carlsson – Uppsala, Sweden
Julien Gauthier Repentigny – Quebec, Canada
Ryan Lissner – Baltimore, Md.
Curt Maddox – Dayton, Ohio