Several Members of UF Men's Tennis Team Honored By SEC
Wednesday, April 20, 2005 | Men's Tennis
Florida men's tennis head coach Andy Jackson was named the SEC Co-Coach of the Year while newcomer Greg Ouellette was tabbed the SEC Freshman of the Year, the league announced Tuesday. In addition, Ouellette was a First Team All-SEC selection while Hamid Mirzadeh earned the distinction for the third time in his career. Redshirt junior Chris Brandi represented the Gators on the All-SEC Second Team.
Voted on by league coaches, Jackson earned SEC Co-Coach of the Year honors for the third time in his career and the second while at Florida. In 1991 he earned the distinction while at Mississippi State before doing so with the Gators in 2002. This season, he shares the award with Sylvain Guichard of Mississippi State. In 2005, Jackson led the Gators to a share of the SEC title as UF posted a 10-1 conference record to match Ole Miss. The title was the second in three seasons for the Gators and the ninth in school history. Additionally, UF picked up the SEC Eastern Division crown for the third-consecutive year. Now in his fourth season at Florida, Jackson became the quickest coach in the history of the program to bring a pair of titles to Gainesville. Jackson is also the only coach in the history of the SEC to win titles at two different member institutions.
Ouellette earned the sixth-ever SEC Freshman of the Year award. A native of Ormond Beach, Fla., he is the second Gator to win this accolade (Janne Holmia, 2003). Ouellette, who is ranked No. 39 in the ITA singles poll, led the Gators with a 34-6 overall record in 2005 and went 16-3 in dual-match play. He posted an 11-0 mark against SEC opponents in dual-match play, becoming the first player in the Jackson era to do so. Ouellette defeated a team-high seven ranked opponents this season and became the first freshman in school history to be named SEC Player of the Week when he was selected for the honor on Tuesday, Jan. 25.
Mirzadeh, who was also named to the first team in 2003 and 2004, is ranked No. 31 in the latest edition of the ITA poll. This year, Mirzadeh went 12-9 in dual matches at the top of the singles lineup for the Gators. He also went 8-3 against conference foes and defeated six ranked opponents. He was named the recipient of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Sportsmanship Award at the USTA/ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship at the Mid-Town Tennis Club this past February.
Mirzadeh was chosen for this annual award by the 16 participating coaches for displaying outstanding sportsmanship and exemplifying the spirit of college tennis during the course of the tournament and throughout his career. On April 18, he was named the SEC Player of the Week joining Jeff Morrison as the only Gator in school history to win the honor more than once in a career.
Brandi, ranked No. 90 in the ITA singles poll, received Second Team All-SEC honors for the first time in his career. He spent the majority of the 2005 season at the No. 5 position in the singles lineup and also appeared on courts three and four. He went 22-8 overall and 15-4 in dual matches. His 9-2 record in duals against SEC players ranked third on the squad. He was named the SEC Player of the Week on February 8.
Florida looks to continue an already successful season this weekend at the 2005 SEC Men's Tennis Tournament in Athens, Ga. The Gators received a No. 2 seed and will take on either Vanderbilt or Kentucky on Friday at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinal round.
