June 28, 2007

BOCA RATON, FL - Florida Atlantic University men's tennis coach David Komie will welcome his second recruiting class. Much like his first class, the second class is ranked among the nation's best for mid-majors.

"It's nice for our program to be recognized for recruiting, but we need to step up and beat some of the numerous ranked teams we're playing in 2008," said Komie. "We're looking pretty good on paper but the matches are won on the cement."

The Owls class is currently ranked no. 3 nationally for mid-majors by Tennisrecruiting.net. The '07 class garnered a no. 2 ranking in the same poll and a no. 20 rank overall.

Every player in last year's class started for the Owls and showed drastic improvement. While the Owls finished 9-12 in dual match play, the individual singles record was 100-74. This is compared to the previous season when just 36 singles matches were won, and there were 107 losses. Freshman Olivier Sajous tallied a 28-4 record, with more single-season victories than any FAU player in the program's history. He also earned the FAU Athletic Department's Male Athlete of the Year award for his accomplishments.

Sajous was one of six newcomers in '07. All team members are scheduled to return and will provide leadership to newcomers, Marc Abdelnaur and Joe Cadogan. The incoming duo is expected to push those returning for a starting position, which will provide more depth and more competitive practices.

Abdelnour, a native of Syria, earned two ATP points last season and had a strong international junior career. He posted a 55-14 mark in singles and a 36-15 record in doubles, while earning seven ITF singles and six ITF doubles titles.

Cadogan, ranked no. 50 by Tennisrecruiting.net, is a Florida native who has been a top Florida player his entire junior career. He attained a no. 1 Florida rank and a top-25 national rank. Cadogan has held the state's high school championship title since eighth grade and will depart from high school as a five-time champion. He also captured the Florida State Closed Sectional in 2005.