Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Piotr Baranski joins the men's tennis team
02/12/2016 | 12:00:00 | Men's Tennis
Tony McDaniel
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill.—The Saluki men's tennis team got deeper with the addition of Piotr Baranski, who recently joined the team with junior eligibility. The Poland native comes to SIU with three years of professional experience under his belt, and will look to contribute immediately for the Salukis.
"We're lucky to have Piotr," head coach Dann Nelson said. "He'll help us not only with our depth, but in doubles somewhere. He's a good piece to an already strong team."
Since turning pro at the age of 19, Baranski has gone 8-10 in ATP/WTA Tour and ITF Pro Circuit doubles events, and 1-5 in singles events. He has been ranked as high as 1,210th in the world in doubles and 1,856th in singles. Baranski is the only current Saluki with a professional ranking.
While Baranski is yet to be crowned as a champion of a professional tournament, he reached the final round of the Morocco F6 Futures doubles draw in 2014. Baranski called it the best moment of his tennis career so far. He has also won 18 championships in his home nation, Poland.
Baranski's doubles resume is impressive, and he will contribute to the already strong doubles teams that the Salukis have. Nelson said in singles, time will tell to how Baranski will contribute, but he has the experience and ranking to play near the top of the Saluki lineup.
"He's super quick," Nelson said. "He doesn't really have a weakness that we can see right now. We're pretty optimistic that he can be a very good college player."
Skill wise, Baranski is ready to step in and start winning matches, but he will have to adjust to some of the smaller nuances of the game at the Division I level. Baranski has spent the majority of his career playing on clay courts that are slower and more slippery than the hard courts in the NCAA. He will also have to adjust to the lighter U.S. Open ball that is used in all NCAA sanctioned events.
Southern Illinois was not the only potential landing spot for Baranski. Rice and several other schools took interest in the player.
"I chose SIU for many reasons," Baranski said. "We have a great coach and a great team here. I have a chance to be a better tennis player and a chance to be a pro after graduation."
Baranski has been with SIU for two weeks and is still in the adjustment period with his new team. He is not the only Pole in the SIU program, though. Assistant coaches Pawel Poziomski, who notified Nelson about Baranski, and Szymon Opieczonek are both from Poland as well.
Baranski could play in his first matches as a Saluki as early as Feb. 20 when SIU hosts Illinois-Chicago at 9 a.m.
Players Mentioned
