ATHENS, Ga. — LSU men’s tennis players Ajay Ramaswami and Jesse Smatt each advanced to the third round of the ITA Region III Championships on Thursday. The event is being held in Athens, Ga., on the campus of the University of Georgia.
Ramaswami, the Tigers’ 57th-ranked singles player in the nation, defeated Florida Atlantic’s Yalin Bilgin in three sets, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, to move on to the third round of play. As the 11th-seed in the tournament, Ramaswami only played one match on Thursday after earning a first-round bye.
LSU’s Smatt, a junior from Cooper City, Fla., won both of his matches handily in two sets. In the first round he dominated Georgia State’s Fernando Damus, 6-1, 6-3, and defeated Miami’s Tomas Smid, 6-4, 6-4, in the second round.
With the victories, Smatt improved his fall record to 8-4, while Ramaswami increased his record to an impressive, 11-3.
The singles portion of the ITA Region 3 Championships continues Friday morning with Ramaswami set to face Georgia’s Bo Hodge and Smatt ready to challenge No. 81 Daniel Klemetz of Middle Tennesse State.
ITA Region III Championships
Nov. 2-5, 2000
Dan Magill Tennis Center
Athens, Ga.
Singles First Round
John Gray Pou (LSU) def. Bram Tucker (Jacksonville), 6-0, 6-1
Dan Kiernan (LSU) def. Zak Lahmer (South Alabama), 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Jesse Smatt (LSU) def. Fernando Damus (Georgia State), 6-1, 6-3
Matt Turner (Tennessee) def. Bryan Fisher (LSU), 7-5, 6-3
Richard Magney (Memphis) def. Sebastian Rutka (LSU), 6-4, 6-0
(11) Ajay Ramaswami (LSU) received bye
Singles Second Round
Edo Bowano (Kentucky) def. John Gray Pou (LSU) 6-2, 6-2
#39 (9) Paul Podbury (Tennessee) def. Dan Kiernan (LSU), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
Jesse Smatt (LSU) def. #67 (13) Tomas Smid (Miami) 6-4, 6-4
#57 (11) Ajay Ramaswami (LSU) def. Yalin Bilgin (Florida Atlantic) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3