No. 7 LSU Faces Two Doubleheaders; At Nicholls, UL-Lafayette, Hosts Ole Miss, Southern
BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 7 LSU men’s tennis team will make a short road trip to Youngsville, Louisiana, to complete its doubleheader on Feb. 26 against Nicholls at 12:00 p.m. CT, followed by UL-Lafayette at 4:00 p.m. CT. Next up, the Tigers will return for their SEC home opener on March 1, in a doubleheader with Ole Miss at 12:00 p.m. CT and Southern at 4:00 p.m. CT at the LSU Tennis Complex.
Live stats will be provided for Thursday’s doubleheader action. Nicholls can be followed through https://lsul.su/3MrLO4k, and UL-Lafayette through https://lsul.su/4rCN7wA.
For Sunday’s matches, video can be accessed through https://lsul.su/49uB6RK. Results for Ole Miss can be followed through https://lsul.su/4rUR6ot, and Southern through https://lsul.su/4aSdqHI.
Head coach Danny Bryan has led LSU to a 10-2 record this season, with a 1-1 SEC mark to open conference play. Additionally, in next weekend’s closing contest against Southern, Bryan will complete his 100th match as the head coach for the Tigers. In the fourth year of his campaign, the team has matched its best record over the first twelve matches of the season. Furthermore, the team’s five ranked wins are already more than they have logged in a season alone during Bryan’s tenure, propelling LSU to see its highest rank since 2000.
“We’re looking forward to playing at the Youngsville Sports Complex tomorrow, and hopefully getting some tiger fans out there,” said Bryan. “We’re looking forward to being home. We have been on the road a lot, and the guys are excited to hopefully play in front of a big crowd against a good Ole Miss team. There are a lot of things to look forward to in the next few days.”
When asked about reaching his 100th match mark as head coach for the Tigers, Bryan said, “It’s always an honor to wear the purple and gold. Leading this team and this program is something I don’t take for granted.”
With the first weekend of conference play behind them, LSU lands at No. 7 in the ITA rankings. The Tigers dropped their SEC opener against now No. 13 Georgia, but were able to bounce back in a dominant showing against Alabama, where they won 6-1. Three Tigers represent the purple and gold in the rankings this week: No. 53 Erik Arutiunian and No. 102 Andrej Loncarevic are the singles features, and No. 63 Arutiunian and Matias Ponce de Leon highlight doubles.
LSU enters the matchup with a perfect 24-0 record against UL-Lafayette and owns a flawless 11-0 mark against Nicholls. Currently on a three-match win streak, the Cajuns enter with a 5-3 mark on the year. In his debut season last year, head coach Thomas Sevel led his squad to 10 wins. However, in his time as an assistant from 2022-23, the Cajuns won 41 matches and reached a national ranking as high as No. 37. The 4-1 Colonels are led by interim head coach Kaitlin Canzoneri.
LSU holds a commanding 50-23 record over Ole Miss all-time. The Rebels, 12-2, travel to the Boot on a two-match losing streak – both coming in 4-3 losses to conference rivals No. 16 Texas A&M and No. 18 Oklahoma. The Tigers, on the other hand, look to get their first win over the Rebels since 2022. Representing Ole Miss in the ITA rankings is the duo of No. 40 Isac Stromberg and Kai Milburn. Jake Jacoby enters his first year at the helm for the Rebels. Before finding a new home in Oxford, Jacoby served as the associate head coach at Mississippi State, making a Round of 16 appearance in four of his five years. As a player, he finished his career at Iowa with 128 combined singles and doubles wins, which ranks him fifth in program history. Jacoby seeks to log his first SEC win and get back on track against a battle-tested LSU team.
LSU will host Southern to cap off their at-home doubleheader, looking to extend its perfect 20-0 record against the winless Jaguars. Jeff Conyers is in his 19th season as head coach, compiling a 131-80 career record. After serving three years as an assistant, he took over in 2002 and immediately led the Jaguars to a SWAC Championship and NCAA appearance, beginning a run of four straight conference titles.
Last time out for the Tigers, No. 102 Andrej Loncarevic made his court two debut against No. 90 Matic Kriznik, taking him down 6-4, 6-3. Defeating his first ranked SEC opponent of the season, he improved his overall singles record to 6-2. Not only did he get a big singles win, but with partner Sasa Markovic on the top doubles court, the two battled No. 18 Jacob Olar and Andrii Zimhokh. The sophomore pair’s 6-3 win earned them their first and highest ranked win this season, as well as helping LSU secure the doubles point later. Markovic also logged a definitive win over Carlos Gimenez Perez on court five. Finding his way back into the win column, his nine wins on the season are the most on the team.
Freshman Olaf Pieczkowski was in a tight battle on the top court against Georgia’s No. 42 Arda Azkara before the match went unfinished. He has two wins at the No. 1 spot this season, as well as four wins in doubles. No. 53 Arutiunian got his eighth win of the season in the Alabama match. With five appearances on each of the top two courts, the freshman has continued to assert himself as a force in this lineup. Not only in singles, but with partner Ponce de Leon, their 8-2 mark landed them No. 63 in the rankings. In a narrow showdown over the Crimson Tide, they helped claim the doubles point once more in a tiebreak.
In his return to Tuscaloosa, Ponce de Leon didn’t just show up in doubles, but dominated singles too. The first player off the court, Ponce de Leon rolled on to a 6-1, 6-4 victory to improve his record to 8-3. The senior transfer has continued to hold it down on the bottom courts, providing significant depth to the roster.
Sophomore Enzo Kohlmann looks to regain momentum in the upcoming matches. All five of his singles wins this season have come on courts two and three. He has also played a crucial role in doubles, primarily at the third spot, where he has earned five of his six wins. Also getting back on track by making his return to the lineup was junior Alessio Vasquez. He wasted no time making his presence felt, going the distance on the No. 4 court to secure his first win of the season.
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