LSU Tops No. 16 Arizona, 4-3; Set to face No. 22 Pepperdine in ITA Kickoff Weekend Championship Match
BATON ROUGE, La. – For the second consecutive week, LSU came away with a ranked victory, defeating No. 16 Arizona, 4-3, at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center. Andrej Loncarevic rallied from a set down to secure a 4–6, 6–2, 6–4 win, clinching the opening match of ITA Kickoff Weekend for the Tigers.
LSU stays rolling at 4-0, as Arizona falls to 3-2 on the season.
“It was another great effort by our guys today,” said head coach Danny Bryan. “First, we have so much respect for Arizona. What they have done in the last few years, establishing themselves as a top program in the country, it’s tough to play them. We went out aggressively and played to win in our doubles point, which I love to see. After a slow start in singles, we had some guys dig in. Being able to turn around their matches and get the third set was huge. It wasn’t an easy situation, but the guys really stepped up. Now, we must recover and get ready to battle again tomorrow against a very good Pepperdine team.”
Right out of the gate, Erik Arutiunian and Matias Ponce de Leon stormed to a 3-0 lead on the No. 2 court against Zoran Ludoski and Alexander Rozin. The duo was firing, and unable to break their service games, the lead would prove insurmountable to Arizona. The pair took the first step in capturing the doubles point for the Tigers, posting a 6-3 set win.
First-time partners Olaf Pieczkowski and Enzo Kohlmann were in a much more tense state on the third court. Matched up against Alejandro Arcila and Jay Friend, both teams found themselves trading games. Unable for anyone to make a breakthrough, the set entered a tiebreak. At the switch, the Tigers led 4-2, just the gap they needed. Pieczkowski and Kohlmann clinched the doubles point with a 7-6 (5) score, giving LSU a one-point advantage over Arizona.
Entering singles with the lead, the Polish native looked to continue his impressive debut. Facing the No. 4 player in the nation in Friend, Pieczkowski took the top court, buckled in for a showdown. Quickly challenged by a 3-0 deficit, the freshman put on a four-game win streak to find himself back on serve. Unfortunately, the First Team All-American would put together a run of his own, taking the set 7-5. Fighting an uphill battle, Pieczkowski succumbed to a lead he could not overcome, losing the set 6-1. Arizona tied the match at one apiece.
Taking on the third spot, Kohlmann fell into an early hole against Rozin. Down 4-1, he was unable to regain the break of serve he had already lost, ultimately dropping the set 6-3. The following set had a similar pattern, going down 2-4 and searching for something on his return games. Kohlmann posed a threat, putting four games on the board, but the Wildcat from Canada served the second set out, posting a 6-4 second set. Arizona took the lead for the first time today with a 2-1 match score.
Squaring off on court six for the first time this season, Sasa Markovic took a commanding start to his match against No. 106 Matthias Uwe Kask. Logging a break in the opening game, he jumped to a 4-0 advantage. Although his ranked opponent found his footing, it was too late to prevent the Serbian from taking the initial set 6-2. Expecting a hard-fought second set, Markovic fell behind 2-0. However, he prevailed, stealing back his break of serve and capturing another before earning his first ranked win of the season with a 7-5 second set. The Tigers now sat at a 2-2 stalemate.
Ponce de Leon made his premier appearance on the No. 5 spot today, sharing the court with Arcila. He did not find the same immediate success as he did in doubles, however. The freshman from Columbia recorded a convincing 6-1 scoreline to begin the match. After the second set looked like it was down the same path, Ponce de Leon rallied. Landing at a 5-5 stalemate, both players traded a break, forcing a set tiebreak. Falling behind 4-2 at the switch, the Spaniard could not recover, wrapping up his second set 7-6 (4). The Wildcats led 3-2, one match away from ending the day.
On court No. 2 for the first time, Arutiunian faced off against No. 58 Filip Gustafsson. After a hiccup in the middle of the opening set, the freshman went down 6-3. Needing to pull off a comeback from a set down to keep the Tigers alive, Arutiunian flipped the script. He found the same momentum as he did in doubles, surging to a 6-1 victory in the second set to force a decider. In a much closer third set, the match found itself at a 4-4 stalemate. The Belarus native would pull off a stunning drop volley to get the break, then set himself up to serve out the match, recording a 6-4 scoreline. The match was all tied up
Once again sitting at a 3-3 match score, LSU set its gaze on court five, where Andrej Loncarevic stood across from Ludoski. A fast start was halted once the score reached 3-2, where the Serbian claimed four of the next five games, marking a 6-4 score. A set away from defeat, Loncarevic took charge. Finding an early break, the sophomore stayed at full throttle to put the second set away at 6-2. In the set that would decide which team advances to the final match, it began as deadlocked as imaginable. At 4-4, just like in the match that took place on court two, Loncarevic dug deep and found a clutch break that would set him up to serve for the match. He did just that, putting up a 6-4 scoreline. LSU overcame Arizona on their home courts 4-3, booking their place in the championship match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend.
Up Next
LSU will clash with No. 22 Pepperdine on Sunday, Jan. 25, at 2:00 p.m. CT. With a win, they will advance to the ITA National Indoor Championship.
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LSU vs No. 16 Arizona
Jan 24, 2026 at Tucson, AZ
LaNelle Robson Tennis Center
LSU 4, Arizona 3
Singles Competition
1. No. 4 Jay Friend (AZ) vs. Olaf Pieczkowski (LSU) 7-5, 6-1
2. Erik Arutiunian (LSU) def. No. 58 Filip Gustafsson (AZ) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
3. Alexander Rozin (AZ) vs. Enzo Kohlmann (LSU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Andrej Loncarevic (LSU) def. Zoran Ludoski (AZ) 4-4, 6-2, 6-4
5. Alejandro Arcila (AZ) vs. Matias Ponce de Leon (LSU) 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Sasa Markovic (LSU) def. No. 106 Mattias Uwe Kask (AZ) 6-2, 7-5
Doubles Competition
1. Sasa Markovic/Andrej Loncarevic (LSU) vs. Filip Gustafsson/Glib Sekachov (AZ) 6-6 (4-6), unfinished
2. Erik Arutiunian/Matias Ponce de Leon (LSU) def. Zoran Ludoski/Alexander Rozin (AZ) 6-3
3. Enzo Kohlmann/Olaf Pieczkowski (LSU) def. Alejandro Arcila/Jay Friend (AZ) 7-6 (7-5)
Match Notes
LSU 4-0
Arizona 3-2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (1,3,6,5,2,4)