NEW ORLEANS — The LSU men’s tennis team team will begin play in its fifth tournament of the fall season Friday in the Tulane Invitational at 9 a.m. at the Goldring Tennis Stadium here on the campus of Tulane University.
“This is another good opportunity for our team to get some more match toughness before heading into the spring,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “It’s also a chance for our freshman and the younger guys to hone their game before the dual season begins.”
The Tigers will face some of the top-tennis players in the state including athletes from Tulane, Southeastern Louisiana, the University of New Orleans, and UL-Lafayette.
Southeastern Conference foes Arkansas and Ole Miss, along with players from Southern Miss and Lamar University will also take part in the three-day event. The Tulane Invitational will culminate Sunday afternoon with both the singles and doubles championship matches.
Competing for the Tigers this weekend will be senior Jonathan Hurd, juniors Jesse Smatt, John Sruk, and Anthony Mateljan, sophomores Brandon Nicholson and John Gray Pou, along with freshmen Sebastian Rutka and Bryan Fisher.
Smatt opens the Singles “A” Draw with a match against the top-seeded singles player in the tournament, Kristoph Stahlberg of Ole Miss. Smatt is looking to improve to a 6-3 record in the fall. LSU’s Rutka will also compete in the “A” Draw of the event and will face Southern Miss’ David Jansson at 10:30 a.m.
The Tigers’ Fisher, Mateljan, Sruk, Pou, Nicholson, and Hurd are competing in the “B” Draw of the tournament.
In doubles, LSU’s Smatt/Fisher will look to disappoint the hometown fans by defeating Tulane’s Kogan/Viljanen in the first round of the “A” Draw.
Smatt and Fisher have not lost a match this season and have compiled a 4-0 record in fall competition. Last week the duo took the doubles crown at the 2000 Seminole Classic in Tallahassee, Fla.
The LSU men’s tennis players will each begin their quest for the singles championship at the Tulane Individual Tournament Friday morning at 9 a.m. The doubles competition will start in the afternoon following the singles events.
2000 Tulane Invitational
Oct. 20-22, 2000
Goldring Tennis Stadium
New Orleans, La.
Flight “A” Singles First Round
Jesse Smatt (LSU) bye
Sebastian Rutka (LSU) vs. David Jansson (Southern Miss)
Flight “A” Singles Second Round
Jesse Smatt (LSU) vs. (1) Kristoph Stahlberg (Ole Miss)
Flight “A” Doubles Second Round
Fisher/Smatt (LSU) vs. Kogan/Viljanen (Tulane)
Flight “B” Singles First Round
Bryan Fisher (LSU) bye
Anthony Mateljan (LSU) bye
John Gray Pou (LSU) bye
Brandon Nicholson (LSU) bye
John Sruk (LSU) vs. Anders Oding (New Orleans)
Jonathan Hurd (LSU) vs. Tatsuhiro Ishii (Tulane)
Flight “B” Singles Second Round
Bryan Fisher (LSU) vs. winner Owe Gneiting (Southern Miss)/Milos Vasovic (SLU)
Anthony Mateljan (LSU) vs. winner Neboshia Murisic (Lamar)/Nieem Cath (New Orleans)
John Gray Pou (LSU) vs. winner Thatcher Cribbs (Lamar)/Philip Darveau (SLU)
Brandon Nicholson (LSU) vs. winner Jonathan Hurd (LSU)/Tatsuhiro Ishii (Tulane)
Flight “B” Doubles First Round
Nicholson/Sruk (LSU) vs. Odnoff/Cath (New Orleans)
Mateljan/Pou (LSU) bye
Flight “B” Doubles Second Round
Mateljan/Pou (LSU) vs. winner Vasovic-Darveau (SLU)/Cribbs-Murisic (Lamar)