The honors keep rolling in for the LSU men’s tennis team.
The NCAA announced the 32-team field for the 2003 NCAA Doubles Championship Thursday, which includes No. 18 Jason Hazley and Bryan Fisher.
The five-round single elimination tournament will be May 24 in Athens, Ga.
“It is an honor to get selected,” said head coach Jeff Brown. “They did real well to position themselves early in the season, and they never let go of that.”
Hazley and Fisher are 21-10 this season with two victories over top 50 opponents — against No. 42 Wade Orr and Mark Dietrich of Tennessee and No. 44 Johan Brunstrom and Henrik Soderberg of Southern Methodist.
“They’re the type of team that can beat anybody,” Brown said. “They have a lot of weapons. They’ve got big shots, plus they can [play] finesse. They’re a smart team.”
The pair dominated the 2002 SEC Indoor Championship in early January. Hazley and Fisher reeled off five victories in that tournament, including wins over No. 12 Nicolas Boeker and Bo Hodge of Georgia, No. 16 Hamid Mirzadeh and Chris McDonald of Florida and No. 19 Chad Harris and Scott Brown of Vanderbilt.
“They kept themselves ranked high,” Brown said. “Ultimately, it comes down to who you beat, and they got some good wins as well.”
In addition, No. 62 Peter Richman was named an alternate for the 64 competitor field for the 2003 NCAA Singles Championship held simultaneously with the doubles championships.
Richman will compete if another competitor drops out of the competition.
On the season, Richman is 16-17 in singles play. He defeated three ranked opponents — No. 31 Lester Cook of Texas A&M, No. 47 Jean Simon of Texas and No. 105 Karim Benmansour of Kentucky.
Brown attributed Richman’s tough going through most of the season to the level of competition he faced.
“In the SEC when you’re playing No. 1 or No. 2, there could be a part of the season where your going to play several guys that are ranked in the top 10,” Brown said. “You’re not going to win all those.
“But Peter responded real well and was able to pick up some wins,” Brown said. “There’s a decent chance that he could get in.”