University of Tennessee Athletics
Rea, Spizzo Earn All-SEC First-Team Honors
April 21, 2004 | Men's Tennis
April 21, 2004
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| Simon Rea |
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| Damien Spizzo |
NASHVILLE -- Tennessee men's tennis players Simon Rea and Damien Spizzo were named first-team All-Southeastern Conference honorees Wednesday evening at the annual SEC men's tennis awards banquet. Both players received the honor for their outstanding doubles play as a pairing this season.
Rea, a senior from Auckland, New Zealand, finished the regular season tied for the Tennessee team lead with 17 doubles victories.
"It's quite an honor to be All-SEC my senior year," Rea said. "A big part of that is Damien (Spizzo) and how well he's played over the course of the year in doubles. He's really been a fantastic partner. Hopefully we can translate our success in doubles, and some of the team's success this year, into playing the way we'd like to this week."
Spizzo, a junior from Victoria, Australia, posted a team-best doubles winning percentage of .800 while compiling a 16-4 overall doubles record with three different partners during the regular season.
"It's obviously an honor to make All-SEC," Spizzo said. "Without Simon (Rea), it's probably not possible. A lot of credit goes to him, and to get this honor with a good mate is something that I'll hold on to for the future. Also, Coach Fancutt and Coach Mahony helped Simon and I a lot with our doubles, and their help was a big part of our success this year."
Tennessee's top tandem throughout all of the SEC season, Rea and Spizzo amassed an overall record of 9-4 as a pairing, including a 7-4 mark against SEC foes and an impressive 6-1 record against ranked opponents. The duo contributed to Tennessee's overwhelming doubles success (the Vols won the doubles point in 17 of 20 regular-season dual matches) by recording a team-best five doubles clinching points.
Rea and Spizzo are ranked No. 6 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national doubles rankings. The lofty ranking is a career-high for both players.
Tennessee faces Mississippi State in the opening round of the SEC tournament Thursday at 12:30 p.m. (EDT). Local forecasts indicate a high probability of rain Thursday in Nashville. As such, the Vols spent a portion of their allotted practice time Wednesday afternoon hitting indoors before moving outdoors to conclude their workout.
| 2004 ALL-SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE MEN'S TENNIS TEAM FIRST-TEAM | |
| Name | School |
| Adrians Zguns | Arkansas |
| Gabor Zoltan | Auburn |
| Hamid Mirzadeh | Florida |
| Bo Hodge | Georgia |
| John Isner | Georgia |
| Jesse Witten | Kentucky |
| Ken Skupski | LSU |
| Catalin Gard | Ole Miss |
| Claes Lindholm | Ole Miss |
| Simon Rea | Tennessee |
| Damien Spizzo | Tennessee |
| Chad Harris | Vanderbilt |
| SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC | |
| Stephen Mitchell | Alabama |
| Nathan Price | Arkansas |
| Janne Holmia | Florida |
| Vlad Obradovic | Florida |
| Tigran Martirosyan | Kentucky |
| Bryan Fisher | LSU |
| Jason Hazley | LSU |
| Paul Ciorascu | Ole Miss |
| Romain Ambert | Mississippi State |
| Scott Brown | Vanderbilt |
| Zach Dailey | Vanderbilt |
| Matt Lockin | Vanderbilt |
| SEC COACH OF THE YEAR | |
| Billy Chadwick | Ole Miss |
| SEC PLAYER OF THE YEAR | |
| Catalin Gard | Ole Miss |
| SEC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR | |
| John Isner | Georgia |
| SEC CO-SCHOLAR-ATHLETES OF THE YEAR | |
| Hamid Mirzadeh | Florida |
| Bryan Fisher | LSU |
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