Corduneanu Ranked No. 88 In Preseason National Poll, Cajuns Ranked No. 75

<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La.-Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men’s tennis team will begin the 2004 season ranked No. 75 in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Sophomore Evghenii Corduneanu will begin the season with a No. 88 ranking.

"It's always nice to start off the season with a national ranking, but at the same time," said Louisiana second year head coach Justin McGrath, “rankings only matter at the end of the season and the season has just begun."

Five players return from last year's squad, which finished 10-12 overall with a fourth-place finish in the Sun Belt Conference.

"The ultimate goal for the team is to make the NCAA Tournament this season."

Corduneanu, a native of Kishinev, Moldova, finished the fall season with an impressive 18-6 singles record, which included a seven-match winning streak at the 2003 Icy Hot/ITA All-American Championships in Chattanooga, Tenn. In 2003, Corduneanu led the team with 13 singles victories and combined with Amanjot Singh for a 16-6 doubles mark.

"Having a sophomore ranked No. 88 in the country is very special to the program and to the team. Evghenii has worked very hard in the past season and a half and it shows by his ranking."

Louisiana's men's tennis begins the 2004 season against second-ranked Baylor January 26 at 2:30 p.m.

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