BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 102 Andrej Loncarevic posted a 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 90 Matic Kriznik to clinch the match for the Tigers today, propelling the No. 5 LSU men’s tennis team to defeat Alabama, 6-1, at the Alabama Tennis Stadium.
With this win, LSU earns its first conference win of the season, extending its record to 10-2, 1-1 in the SEC. Alabama falls to 3-7, 0-2 in the SEC.
“It was great to see the doubles play today,” said head coach Danny Bryan. “Andrej [Loncarevic] and Sasa [Markovic] got us started with the win against the No. 18 team in the country which was huge. Erik [Arutiunian] and Matias [Ponce de Leon] closed it out with a good win which was great. In singles we started good, with Matias getting a good win on the bottom court. It was also really good to see Alessio [Vasquez] not only back on the court, but for him to get the win the way he did.”
With four wins going in to today, Markovic and Loncarevic took on the top court, facing their highest ranked opponents this season in No. 18 Jacob Olar and Andrii Zimhokh. The set unfolded evenly, with both teams settling into a rhythm holding serves through the first six games to reach 3-3. The Tigers earned the decisive break to give them the edge at 5-3, giving them the chance to serve it out. The Crimson Tide battled in the final game, pushing it to deuce, but the sophomore duo would prevail, wrapping the set 6-3.
Rudy Ceccon returned to court three with Enzo Kohlmann, seeking to re-establish their momentum from the beginning of the season. Matched up against Rohan Hazratwala and Brandon Loh, both pairs were in sync as each held their opening three service games to arrive at 3-3 midway through the set. However, it was the Crimson Tide who would strike first, stealing a game at 4-3 and giving them the upper hand. Alabama strung together three straight games to close the set, 6-3, as LSU was unable to get back on track. It came down to court two for the deciding doubles point.
The seven-win duo of No. 63 Arutiunian and Ponce de Leon battled with Vit Kalina and Matic Kriznik at the second spot. Like the rest of the doubles courts today, this set opened evenly, with neither team able to surge ahead. In this matchup, however, there was no shift midway through the set. Both teams held their service games until a tiebreak was forced at 6-6. The Tigers started the tiebreak strong, earning a mini break to put them ahead 2-1. After holding their next two serves and advancing to a 4-1 advantage, the Crimson Tide felt the pressure. From then on, LSU controlled the rest of the tiebreaker, only letting up one more point until the set concluded at 7-6(2). LSU claimed the doubles point and led Alabama, 1-0.
Today was an important day for Ponce de Leon as he returned to Alabama, the program where he spent his first three years of his collegiate career. Coming off a hard-fought doubles win, he remained on fire heading into singles against Yoshka Sborosky. Opening with near-perfect play, Ponce de Leon stormed out to a quick 3-0 lead. Without skipping a beat, he extended it to 5-0 and only dropped a single game before closing the first set, 6-1. Heading into the next frame, the Spaniard surrendered the opening game, then proceeded to go on yet another five-game run. With the ending in sight, Sborowsky made one final push and ended up notching three games in a row to make it 5-4. Ultimately, Ponce de Leon confidently served it out, 6-4. He left no doubt in his homecoming reunion, putting LSU up over Alabama, 2-0.
No. 53 Arutiunian entered the No. 1 court – where he has three wins this season – to go head-to-head with Andrii Zimnokh. After both players got on the board to start, Arutiunian assertively took a 4-1 advantage following a three-game stretch. From then on, Zimnokh was able to claim a few more games before Arutiunian served it out, 6-4. The second set continued locked for longer, very little separating the two at 4-4. Both players held steady until Arutiunian pulled ahead, logging the first break of the second set at 5-4, before closing it out, 6-4. His third win in a row improves his record to 8-2, also putting LSU at 3-0, one point away from clinching the match.
No. 102 Loncarevic made his first appearance on court two this season against No. 90 Kriznik. The opening set remained tight through the first six games, both players trading blows until a 3-3 stalemate. Here, it was Kriznik who would fire first, shifting the deadlock and taking a 4-3 lead with a break. However, Loncarevic responded with urgency late in the set, not only stealing the game right back, but keeping the energy through the final stretch. He regained control at the right moment, closing the set, 6-4. The next set followed the same script early, with the two splitting the first six games once again. For a second time around, Loncarevic created momentum at a critical point in the set, edging ahead at 4-3 before capturing the final set, 6-3. He improved his record to 6-2, as well as defeating his first ranked SEC opponent this season. LSU clinched the match over Alabama, 4-0.
Looking to bounce back from the previous match, Markovic took on the fifth spot against Carlos Gimenez Perez. The set opened with both players finding their rhythm as they approached an even 2-2. Markovic asserted himself from here on out, putting pressure on Perez’s service games until he created a two-game cushion at 4-2. Although Perez was able to notch another game, Markovic kept steady to put the set away, 6-3. The second set was more competitive throughout, Markovic hanging in there without letting go of serve. After creating a separation at 4-3, he controlled the homestretch of the match, dropping only one more game before concluding it, 6-4. Markovic now has nine wins on the season – 6-1 on that spot – and is back in the win column. LSU increased its lead over Alabama, 5-0.
Making his dual season debut today was Junior Alessio Vasquez, entering the No. 4 spot to battle Olar. The set unfolded with both sides experiencing momentum swings. Olar thought he took the edge early with a break at 3-2, just for Vasquez to take it right back and level it at 3-3. The set continued to stay in question until Olar separated himself late, claiming a break in the final game to take it 7-5. Still warming up in his return, Vasquez found his flow in the following set. He pounced to a 4-1 advantage after falling behind 1-0. The four-game run created a gap too large for Olar to overcome, as Vasquez closed the second set, 6-3. In the race to ten points in the tiebreak, the Tiger delivered when it mattered most. Coming back from a set down and a narrow third set, Vasquez earned a win in his first match back, pulling away late to wrap it up, 10-7. He helped LSU remain perfect on the day, putting them up 6-0.
Kohlmann was the last match on for the day at court three in a tense battle with Kalina. He quickly fell to a 2-0 deficit but was able to climb out before the set progressed any further by logging back-to-back games. The shift ignited a spark in his game. After tying it back up at 3-3, Kohlmann went on a three-game run. After the underwhelming start, he won six of his next seven games to win the opening set, 6-3. The following set began similarly, succumbing to another 3-0 deficit. This time, while he was still able to keep the set competitive and get back to within a game of tying it, Kalina took this set, 7-5. The tiebreaker was full of drama. The two were level at the first switch, 3-3, before Kohlmann slipped behind 6-4. Kalina had his first two match points at 9-7 but was unable to close it as Kohlmann clawed back to 9-9. He later had two match points of his own at 10-9 and 12-11 but was unable to put it away. Ultimately, Kalina would come out on top, winning the tiebreak 14-12. LSU would go on to beat Alabama, 6-1.
Up Next
LSU will make one more stop on the road in Youngsville, Louisiana, to match up against Nicholls and UL-Lafayette on Thursday, Feb. 26, before coming home for its SEC home opener against Ole Miss on March 1.
LSU vs Alabama
2/23/2026 at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Alabama Tennis Stadium
#5 LSU 6, Alabama 1
Singles competition
1. #53 Erik Arutiunian (LSU) def. Andrii Zimnokh (ALA) 6-3, 6-4
2. #102 Andrej Loncarevic (LSU) def. #90 Matic Kriznik (ALA) 6-4, 6-3
3. Vit Kalina (ALA) def. Enzo Kohlmann (LSU) 3-6, 7-5, 14-12
4. Alessio Vasquez (LSU) def. Jacob Olar (ALA) 5-7, 6-3, 10-7
5. Sasa Markovic (LSU) def. Carlos Gimenez Perez (ALA) 6-3, 6-4
6. Matias Ponce De Leon (LSU) def. Yoshka Sborowsky (ALA) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Sasa Markovic/Andrej Loncarevic (LSU) def. #18 Andrii Zimnokh/Jacob Olar (ALA) 6-3
2. #63 Matias Ponce De Leon/Erik Arutiunian (LSU) def. Vit Kalina/Matic Kriznik (ALA) 7-6 (7-2)
3. Rohan Hazratwala/Brendan Loh (ALA) def. Enzo Kohlmann/Rudy Ceccon (LSU) 6-3
Match Notes:
LSU 10-2, 1-1 SEC; National ranking #5
Alabama 3-7, 0-2 SEC
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,1,2,5,4,3)