No. 6 LSU Gears Up for Home Stand Against Oklahoma, No. 11 Texas A&M, New Orleans
BATON ROUGE, La – The No. 6 LSU men’s tennis team – holding a 17-2 record and 4-1 in SEC action – is looking to stay hot on its home courts this weekend, kicking off play against No. 28 Oklahoma, on Friday, March 13 at 5:30 p.m. CT. The Tigers will return on Sunday, March 15, for a doubleheader bout, opening against No. 11 Texas A&M at 12:00 p.m. CT, capping it off with New Orleans at 4:00 p.m. CT.
Live stats will be provided for Friday’s match against Oklahoma through https://lsul.su/4aZnsZ1. For Sunday’s doubleheader action, results for Texas A&M can be followed through https://lsul.su/40mrBjx and for New Orleans through https://lsul.su/4blnTvs. Live video is available for all matches at https://lsul.su/49uB6RK.
Attendance at all LSU matches at the LSU Tennis Complex is free. Attendees will be required to comply with the university’s clear-bag policy.
“These are great opportunities this weekend, first hosting Oklahoma tomorrow night and then Texas A&M on Sunday,” said head coach Danny Bryan. “Oklahoma is a very talented team; I see them as a top-15 team in the country for sure. It’s going to take a great effort from all the guys, and hopefully, we have a great crowd with the good weather.
On Sunday, it’s the same thing. We’re going to get to play Texas A&M again. We got the better end of it at the National Indoor [Championships], beating them 4-3 in the last match on. It was super tight, and I would expect it to be no different on Sunday, so I hope we can get a great crowd again. It is going to be great weather, so come out and support the guys.”
LSU emerged victorious in all three matches played last week, including its best performance of the season in Austin against the reigning ITA National Indoor Team Champions, No. 2 Texas. The Tigers’ 4-3 upset over the Longhorns is the first in 22 years; furthermore, it marks the program’s highest-ranked win since 1999, when it defeated No. 2 Duke in the NCAA quarterfinal match. Upon returning home on Sunday to continue their dominance, LSU bested Tennessee in a 4-0 sweep, followed by a 6-1 triumph over Southern Miss.
Despite their significant results, LSU remained steady in the latest ITA rankings at No. 6. The Tigers currently hold an eight-match win streak and are undefeated at home at a perfect 8-0. Furthermore, their 17-2 record earns them the highest win percentage (89.5%) of all top-10 ranked teams. Two doubles pairs represent LSU in the rankings: No. 66 Andrej Loncarevic and Sasa Markovic, who made their first appearance in the top-90 last week, and No. 59 Erik Arutiunian and Matias Ponce de Leon, who continue to climb the ranks together. In singles, No. 54 Arutiunian leads the purple and gold, followed by No. 117 Loncarevic.
LSU enters its matchup with Oklahoma leading the all-time series 5-3. In only their fourth matchup since 1980, the Tigers look to rebound after dropping consecutive meetings last season to the Sooners. Oklahoma comes to Baton Rouge with a 10-4 record, going 2-3 in conference play. However, they hold a 3-0 mark on the road this season. Two pairings highlight their squad in the doubles rankings: No. 44 Orel Kimhi and Johan Alexander Rodriguez, and No. 53 Bruno Nhavene and Luis Carlos Alvarez. Leading their group in singles are No. 45 Alvarez, No. 108 Oscar Lacides, and No. 109 Asahi Harazaki. Nick Crowell is in his ninth season as head coach at Oklahoma after being hired in 2016, compiling a 144-85 record while leading the program to nine NCAA Tournament appearances and coaching four All-Americans. Before Oklahoma, he spent 13 seasons as an assistant and associate head coach at Florida State, helping guide the Seminoles to the NCAA Tournament every year. As a former player at Texas, Crowell was a two-time doubles All-American and won the ITA National Indoor doubles title during his senior season. His teams have remained nationally competitive, including Oklahoma’s first SEC season in 2025, when the Sooners reached their 15th straight NCAA Tournament.
LSU has 22 wins over Texas A&M all-time. Their last matchup took place on Feb. 14 at the ITA National Indoor Team Championships in Waco, Texas. Then No. 17 LSU defeated No. 8 Texas A&M in the consolation draw, posting a 4-3 upset in a come-from-behind victory after being down 3-1. The Aggies, now 11-5 and 4-2 in conference play, travel to Baton Rouge looking for redemption on a two-match win streak with a 4-1 mark on the road this season. Representing Texas A&M in the ITA doubles rankings are No. 29 Theo Papamalamis and Togan Tokac and No. 48 Khololwam Montsi and Alexander Frusina. As for singles, No. 49 Montsi, No. 64 Papamalamis, and No. 86 Frusina highlight their lineup. Head coach Steve Denton has led Texas A&M since 2006, becoming the program’s all-time winningest coach with nearly 350 victories while guiding the Aggies to multiple SEC championships and a historic NCAA semifinal run in 2018. Before coaching, Denton had a standout professional career, winning the US Open doubles title in 1982 and reaching two Australian Open singles finals, while ranking as high as No. 11 in the world in singles and No. 2 in doubles. A former All-American at Texas, Denton has developed numerous All-Americans at Texas A&M.
LSU will host New Orleans to close its at-home doubleheader, looking to extend its perfect 35-0 record against the 8-3 Privateers. New Orleans rides a one-match win streak with a 2-2 road mark. Burzis Kanga is in his 18th season as head coach of New Orleans. He led the Privateers to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022 and their first Southland regular season title with an undefeated 5-0 conference record in 2023. Kanga is also a former Privateer standout and the program’s only All-American as a player.
Freshman Olaf Pieczkowski was awarded SEC Player of the Week honors after going undefeated last weekend, winning consecutive singles matches against ranked opponents. Most notable was his comeback victory on the top court to clinch the match for LSU to topple No. 2 Texas, 4-3. Facing the highest-ranked opponent of his collegiate career in No. 4 Sebastian Gorzny, he dropped the opening four games and the first set 6-3. Pieczkowski was able to compose himself, breaking at 4-2 and eventually taking the second set, 6-3. As the last match on court, Gorzny had the Longhorns nearing victory with a 5-2 advantage. From there, Pieczkowski overwhelmed his opponent, putting together an extraordinary five-game run to clinch the match for the Tigers, dismantling a top-5 player in the nation on his home courts.
He continued his dominance at home against Tennessee two days later, battling his second-straight ranked opponent in No. 78 Jose Garcia. Pieczkowski applied pressure on Garcia from the jump, controlling his way through the opener with an early break at 2-1, followed by another in the last game to take the set 6-3. The Polish native forced Garcia to once more fall behind quickly at 3-1; he was unable to recover as Pieczkowski widened the gap, ultimately taking the second set, 6-2. He was the first match off for the Tigers and contributed to LSU’s first in-conference sweep of the season. Pieczkowski extended his winning streak to five, improving his overall record to 6-3 and an undefeated 3-0 in SEC play.
Pieczkowski also excelled in doubles with partner Enzo Kohlmann. The duo got the first win for the Tigers against Texas, facing Jonah Braswell and Sebastian Eriksson. The pair notched a late break to take the set 6-4, helping LSU claim the doubles point that would later prove crucial. Kohlmann also returned to singles action against Southern Miss, facing Olle Noltorp on court four. Kohlmann earned an early advantage with a break, creating enough separation to cruise through the opening set, 6-3. He followed that up with another two-game lead, then achieved a four-game run to finish the match in style with a 6-2 second set. Kohlmann has seven wins on the season, as well as a 5-1 mark with Pieczkowski, 4-0 at the third spot.
The other player to earn conference honors this season is No. 54 Arutiunian, who was awarded SEC Freshman of the Week in the second week of the season. He, too, earned his highest-ranked win last week over Texas’s No. 20 Kalin Ivanovski, logging a 6-2, 6-4 straight sets win. He followed that up on Sunday with a court one victory over Kale Mize from Southern Miss, winning 6-2, 6-2. With the best singles record on the team at 12-2 and 3-0 in conference play, Arutiunian rides a seven-match win streak, tallying five wins on the top court and seven wins on court two.
Not only is he succeeding in singles, but at No. 59, he and Ponce de Leon also hold a 12-2 mark on the season, 4-1 in SEC play, with ten of those coming at the second spot. The duo extended their five-match win streak, clinching the doubles point against both Texas with a 7–6 (4) win over Abel Forger and Mariano Dedura-Palomero, and Tennessee with a 7–6 (5) victory over Ethan Muza and Shion Itsusaki.
Ponce de Leon didn’t just take charge in doubles, but was the second singles match off against Tennessee, beating Itsusaki in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. His mark moves to 11-5, 2-2 in conference play, now making most of his appearances on court six.
No. 117 Loncarevic overpowered Tennessee’s Dragos Cazacu in a 6-3, 6-4 match clinch for LSU. He rounded out his 9-4 singles record this season, 2-2 in SEC play, making notable appearances on each of the top four courts. On the top doubles court in every match this season, he and Markovic proved why their national ranking is No. 66 with a signature win over No. 13 Gorzny and Lucas Marionneau – their highest of the season. The pair helped secure the doubles point for the Tigers, later proving pivotal in the 4-3 result. Primarily on court five, Markovic holds a singles mark of 11-3, 2-2 in the conference.
Alessio Vasquez earned one of the critical wins over Texas, defeating his first-ranked opponent of the season in No. 65 Forger, 7-5, 6-4. His place in the lineup, primarily at the fourth spot, continues to prove key as he advances his season mark to 4-1, 2-1 in the SEC.
For the latest updates, follow @LSUTennis on Instagram, Facebook, and X.