Five MSU Netmen Named Academic All-SEC
May 25, 2016 | Men's Tennis, Athletic Academics
To be eligible for the SEC honor roll, a student-athlete must (1) have a 3.0 grade point average for either the past year or for his career, (2) be a sophomore or higher in terms of academic classification, and (3) have 24 semester hours toward a degree.
Bulldogs named to this year's team were Marco Baron, Rene-Charles Combette, Chris McDonald, David Ruiz and Mathieu Soto. Baron, Combette, Ruiz and Soto were all repeat selections to the squad.
Baron, a senior last year, earned his fourth selection to the team with a 3.91 GPA in international business.
Ruiz and Soto were both third-time choices to the academic squad. Ruiz, State's lone senior this season, had a spotless 4.00 GPA last season in international business. He was also a third-team Academic all-American last year and was MSU's nominee for the 2002 Boyd McWhorter Male Scholar-Athlete Award, annually given by the SEC. Soto, who ended his career in 2001, had a 3.90 in the same field of study.
Combette, a junior this season and the Bulldog team captain, was a second-time honoree. A native of Ajaccio, Corsica, he boasts a 3.35 grade point in international business. McDonald, who was a sophomore last year, but transferred to the University of Florida last fall, notched a 3.39 GPA in business information systems in 2000-01.
"We are once again well represented on the Academic all-SEC team," MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said. "It speaks well of these student-athletes that they are making the best of their college education while also achieving great things on the court. We are very proud of them for their accomplishments."
With Tuesday's honors, MSU men's tennis has had at least one selection to the Academic all-SEC team in 14 of the last 15 seasons and at least four honorees on the squad in each of the last six seasons.
MSU SELECTIONS TO THE 2002 SEC MEN'S TENNIS HONOR ROLL
Â| Name | Cl. | Hometown | GPA | Major |
| Marco Baron | Sr.-'01 | Nantes, France | 3.91 | International Business |
| Rene-Charles Combette | Jr. | Ajaccio, Corsica | 3.35 | International Business |
| Chris McDonald | So.-'01 | Gainesville, Florida | 3.39 | Business Info. Systems |
| David Ruiz | Sr. | Colmar, France | 4.00 | International Business |
| Mathieu Soto | Sr.-'01 | Paris, France | 3.90 | International Business |
Classes listed denote players' academic standing, not classes of eligibility
