NEW ORLEANS — LSU Tigers Tom Hand, Ajay Ramaswami and Anthony Mateljan are all playing for the championship in the Bill Watson Ford Men’s Tennis Invitational. Hand and Ramaswami play each other in the “A” singles final, and Mateljan will play for the title in the “B” singles final.
“Tom, Ajay, and Anthony are all performing extremely well, and their success in this tournament proves that,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said.
Hand, the top-seeded singles player in the tournament advanced to the final by defeating UAB’s Alex Jung 6-2, 6-4, Mikko Viljanen of Tulane 6-2, 6-2, and Arkansas’ Magnus Kullenberg 6-1, 6-2.
In the championship match, Hand will face teammate Ramaswami who overcame UNO’s Viktor Loven, 6-2, 6-0, Jon Monk of Tulane, 6-1, 6-1, UAB’s Tom Dalby 7-6, 6-2, and yet another LSU player, Daniel Kiernan, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
In the “B” singles bracket, LSU’s Mateljan had to fight his way into the final. He defeated Berat Uygar of UNO, 6-0, 6-2 in the first round, Tulane’s Derya Rose 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 in the quarterfinal and Niklas Adnoff of UNO, 7-5, 7-5 in the semifinal.
The final will be a battle of No. 1 and No. 2 seeded players as the top-seeded Mateljan will take on the No. 2-seeded Sebastian Locatelli from UNO Sunday afternoon for the title.
In doubles play, the Tiger’s combination of Brandon Nicholson and Daniel Keirnan will compete for the championship in the doubles “B” draw against Blackburn/Petro of Ole Miss.