BATON ROUGE, La – Sophomore Enzo Kohlmann clinched today’s match with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 singles showing as No. 21 LSU took care of business at home, defeating Rice 5-2 today at the LSU Tennis Complex.
With the win, the Tigers pushed their unbeaten start to 6-0 on the season, while Rice falls to 3-3.
“We had a fast start in doubles, playing solid and winning pretty convincingly,” said head coach Danny Bryan. “We did the same in singles, putting ourselves in a good position on many courts. However, we let our foot off the gas and things slowed down, but guys stepped up to help us get the win. To go up 3-0 quickly is a great place to be, and Enzo bounced back very well in the third set to close it out.”
When asked about the outlook for tomorrow’s match, Coach Bryan says, “It’s a match I always look forward to, playing Tulane. Their coach, Mark Booras, was my assistant coach when I played here. He’s someone I respect a ton and always look forward to competing against, especially as our in-state rival. I’m looking for us to learn from what happened today, and I believe the guys will respond tomorrow.”
Erik Arutiunian and Matias Ponce de Leon began doubles play for LSU on court two, facing Yair Sarouk and Kabeer Kapasi. The duo burst out to an early lead once again, taking a 4-1 advantage. From then on, the Tigers held their serves and maintained a three-game lead until the conclusion at 6-3. Arutiunian and Ponce de Leon have contributed to earning every doubles point this season with their flawless 6-0 record.
Kohlmann and Olaf Pieczkowski took on the third spot once more, where they found success in their debut match together. This time around, not much changed against the pair of Tommy Czaplinski and Rafael Botran. After dropping the first game, they rallied the next four, taking a commanding 4-1 lead. Following a break of serve in the next game, they responded with one of their own and set themselves up to serve for the match. The freshman-sophomore tandem clinched the doubles point for the Tigers in a 6-2 victory. LSU has yet to be bested in doubles this season.
Entering singles with the edge, an all-freshman matchup took place at the second spot between Arutiunian and Santiago Navarro. Just like in doubles, Arutiunian took off with a 4-1 advantage. Failing to drop a service game, he put the first set away 6-3. More of the same occurred in the following set. With it leveled at 1-1, the Belarus native logged five of the next six games to ice the set 6-2, putting LSU on top 2-0. The freshman stays hot with only one loss on the season, taking control in each of his five wins.
Sasa Markovic shared court No. 6 with fellow sophomore Gabriel Porras. The match began evenly, sitting at 2-2. It was then that Markovic stole four consecutive games to put the first set away. He then put together another four-game run to open the second set. Markovic gave up just one game to close the set 6-1, setting up the Tigers a point away from taking down the Owls. The Serbian native has locked down the bottom two courts this season, registering five wins in his six matches played.
Andrej Loncarevic took on court four to face Kapasi. The match opened with trading blows until the fourth year Owl stole a break to go up 5-3, eventually putting the set away 6-4. Kapasi remained on a heater, and with Loncarevic unable to gain footing in the second set, he swept 6-0. Rice was finally on the board with LSU leading 3-1.
Kohlmann stepped foot on the third spot against his doubles foe, Botran. He was able to find an early break to go ahead 3-1. To close the opening set, Kohlmann notched three games in his next four, wrapping up the set 6-2. In the following set, however, Botran came out firing to a 4-1 advantage. It was then that Kohlmann strung together three games to tie it up at four games apiece. The freshman Owl was able to slow the momentum, taking the next two games to force a deciding set. With the match win in sight, the Brazilian native took charge. En route to the clinching point for the Tigers, he only dropped one game in the final set, winning 6-1 and extending his singles winning streak to two in a row.
With the match already won for the Tigers, Ponce de Leon was still fighting on court five to get a singles win of his own against Sarouk. At a 2-2 stalemate in the opening set, he rallied the next four games to close it 6-2. After a four-game run followed by a 5-2 lead in the following set with the finish line in sight, Sarouk had nothing to lose. He staged a comeback, winning four of the next five to force a tiebreak. The Spaniard only logged two points and was forced into a third set after posting 7-6(2). Aiming not to fall victim to an improbable third-set comeback, Ponce de Leon surged to another 5-2 lead after earning a break of serve early. This time, he closed it at 6-3, improving his singles win streak to two and putting LSU up 5-1.
On the top court, Pieczkowski fought hard against No. 79 Petro Kuzmenok. He was unable to recover from a break in the opening game, surrendering the set 6-2. The next set appeared to be heading down the same path, opening with another 2-0 deficit. However, Pieczkowski regained his lost service game, and the two held until a tiebreak was initiated. The score was 3-3 at the switch, and the freshman was able to close the set 7-6(5). Once again, the final set began 2-0, and Pieczkowski was able to get back on serve at 2-2. They traded games until Kuzmenok stole a break to go ahead 5-4 and serve for the match, finishing the set 6-4.
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LSU vs. Rice
Feb 2, 2026 at Baton Rouge, LA
LSU Tennis Complex
#21 LSU 5, Rice 2
Singles competition
1. #79 Petro Kuzmenok (RICE) def. Olaf Pieczkowski (LSU) 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-4
2. Erik Arutiunian (LSU) def. Santiago Navarro (RICE) 6-3, 6-2
3. Enzo Kohlmann (LSU) def. Rafael Botran (RICE) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
4. Kabeer Kapasi (RICE) def. Andrej Loncarevic (LSU) 6-4, 6-0
5. Matias Ponce De Leon (LSU) def. Yair Sarouk (RICE) 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-3
6. Sasa Markovic (LSU) def. Gabriel Porras (RICE) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Andrej Loncarevic/Sasa Markovic (LSU) vs. Petro Kuzmenok/Santiago Navarro (RICE) 3-3, unfinished
2. Erik Arutiunian/Matias Ponce De Leon (LSU) def. Kabeer Kapasi/Yair Sarouk (RICE) 6-3
3. Enzo Kohlmann/Olaf Pieczkowski (LSU) def. Tommy Czaplinski/Rafael Botran (RICE) 6-2
Match Notes:
Rice 3-3
LSU 6-0; National ranking #21
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (2,6,4,3,5,1)
Official: Richie Weaver