Freshman Sebastian Carlsson continued his successful transition into the college ranks this weekend, winning the Red Brackett singles championship at the Ragin’ Cajun’ Invitational. Carlsson defeated Nicholls State’s Radu Inoescu, 6-4, 6-4, in the finals, giving him his second singles tournament championship of the fall season. Carlsson knocked off Jorge Delgado of host Louisiana-Lafayette, 6-4, 6-2, in the semifinals to advance to the championship game held Saturday night. “[Carlsson] has continued to impress us with his ability to find a way to win,” said LSU coach Jeff Brown in a news release. “To win two tournaments as a freshman is a great accomplishment.” In the White Bracket, a section ranked second in degree of difficulty behind the Red Bracket, juniors Martel Campbell and Jonathan Tragardh both won semifinals matches Saturday. Campbell took down Phenyo Matong of Nicholls State 6-4, 6-2, and Tragardh knocked off Janusz Conradi of Louisiana-Lafayette, 6-2, 6-1. Campbell and Tragardh will face off against each other in the finals match scheduled for later this week. On the women’s side, play continued this weekend as the Lady Tigers competed in two different tournaments. Megan Falcon, ranked No. 1 in singles competition, competed at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Indoor Championship where she lost in the quarterfinals to Aurelija Miseviciute of Arkansas 6-4, 4-6, 6-1. In the SEC Fall Coaches Classic in Auburn, Ala., LSU’s Mykala Hedberg and Staten Spencer played giant-killer in doubles competition but eventually fell in the semifinals to Georgia’s Yvette Hyndman and Naoko Ueshima, 8-3. Spencer and Hedberg pulled off an improbable upset to advance to the semifinals match Saturday, beating Vanderbilt’s No. 21 ranked duo of Amanda Taylor and Courtney Ulery, 8-5. The LSU pair rebounded after the semifinal loss Sunday, defeating Jil Hastenrath and Mary Claire Slade of Auburn, 8-2, in the consolation bracket. The victory Sunday marked the end of weekend competition for the Lady Tigers, as well the conclusion of play for the fall semester. “We had a decent conclusion to the fall season,” said head coach Tony Minnis in a news release. “We faced a lot of adversity with injuries during the fall, but we have to get ready for the spring.” The Lady Tigers will take the court next on Jan. 18 in the Virginia Invitational. Following this week’s championship match between Campbell and Tragardh, the men’s team will have one more tournament two weeks from now before they close up for the winter and resume play on Jan. 18 at the SEC Coaches Indoor Championships.
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