MOBILE, Ala. ? The University of South Alabama men’s tennis team had four players receive recognition in the preseason Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll over the weekend. Jag netters Marek Sramek and Jack Baker checked in at the Nos. 24 and 68 spots, respectively in the preseason singles rankings, while the doubles teams of Baker/Sramek (No. 56) and Robert Hodel/R.J. Nagel (No. 59) were selected in the preseason doubles rankings.
"Marek works hard everyday and totally deserves this top 25 ranking," South Alabama men's tennis head coach Nick Brochu said. "Jack had a great year last season losing only three matches. He knows he has the potential to be with Marek in the top 25. They both will have many opportunities this fall to play in the best tournaments and improve their rankings. Also having two doubles teams ranked shows how strong our program is. We have talented players along with a great tradition at USA."
Sramek, a junior this coming season, was selected to compete at the NCAA Singles Championships last season after finishing with a 28-4 overall record. The Skalica, Slovakia native was also 21-3 during dual match play and ended the year ranked No. 45 in the final singles rankings. Sramek was 4-2 against ranked opponents in 2007.
Baker also had an outstanding season in 2007 for the Jags, finishing the spring with a 21-3 mark. Baker was also named the Most Valuable Player at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament after leading South Alabama to its 17th league tournament title. The senior from the United Kingdom also recorded an overall record of 24-3 a season ago and finished the season ranked No. 112 by the ITA in singles play.
Over the weekend, the duo was also selected to compete at next month’s ITA All-Americans. Sramek was chosen to compete in the Singles Main Draw of the tournament (Oct. 4), while Baker will have to advance to go through the qualifying round, beginning on Oct. 1 to reach the draw. The two Jags will also team up and compete in the qualifying round of the doubles portion of the event on Oct. 2.
USA will begin the fall portion of its schedule this coming weekend when they compete at the Thomasville Collegiate Invitational held in Thomasville, Ga.
