ATHENS, Ga. LSU mens tennis players Jesse Smatt defeated N.C.-Charlottes Jocob Nordwall, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, in the quarterfinals of the Southern Collegiate Championship Division II draw Saturday, however, the Tiger junior then fell to Georgia freshman Lesley Jospeh in the semifinal, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(7-1).
Of the five Tigers entered in the tournament, Smatt was the only one to advance past the second round.
In the singles Division I draw, junior transfer Ajay Ramaswami fell to Auburns Tiago Ruffoni, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) after receiving a first-round bye, while Ed Rubin advanced to the second round by defeating Mercers Alejandro Bisogno, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, before falling to Georgia States Daniel Wajnberg, 6-2, 5-7, 6-1.
In the Division II singles, freshman Mario Alvarez defeated Murray States Thiago Gondim, 6-4, 7-5, in the first round before being beaten by Georgia States Perez Gras, 6-3, 7-5. Elsewhere, sophomore Anthony Mateljan received a first-round bye before falling to Tulanes Mikko Viljanen, 7-5, 6-4, in the second round.
In the Division A doubles draw, both Tiger teams were defeated in the first round. The team of Mateljan and Ramaswami fell to Georgias duo of Boeker and Parrott, 8-3, while Alvarez and Smatt were defeated by Murray States Aracic and Hardman, 8-3.
Athens will be the site of the 2000 NCAA Mens Tennis Championship next May.