BATON ROUGE, La – No. 117 Andrej Loncarevic posted a 6-4, 7-5 win to clinch the match for No. 6 LSU, defeating Oklahoma 4-3 on Friday night at the LSU Tennis Complex.
LSU improves to 18-2 and 5-1 in SEC play, while Oklahoma falls to 10-5 and 2-4 in conference play.
“I really felt like it was a great college tennis match overall, with two really good teams going at it,” said head Coach Danny Bryan. “The doubles were great. It’s something we’ve had a lot of success with this year, and Oklahoma has as well. The level was really good, especially on courts one and two. We did a good job of winning quickly on court three, which was a huge advantage for us. And then Matias [Ponce de Leon] and Erik [Arutiunian] were able to close it out like they’ve done so many times this year.
In singles, I told the guys that I really felt like Oklahoma was going to come out strong, and that’s what they did. They were off to a lot of good starts. I think we did a good job of fighting back; in this match, we had to give it our all because Oklahoma came to play. I’m just really proud of the guys. Erik got off the court quickly, which really helped us, and then Sasa [Markovic] did a really good job coming back in the first set and winning that one, and then played a very good second set. Then, obviously, Andrej [Loncarevic], I’m just so proud of him. He’s such a competitor. He’s a winner. It wasn’t the easiest matchup for him, but he’s just someone who gives everything. He loves LSU, and it came through as he played very good tennis at the end to close it out.”
At the third spot, Enzo Kohlmann and Olaf Pieczkowski dominated from the jump against Oscar Lacides and Asahi Harazaki. The Tiger duo surged with a pair of breaks at their first two opportunities, taking a commanding 4-0 lead. The Sooners were finally able to get on the board at 4-1. Ultimately, Kohlmann and Pieczkowski kept their foot on the gas and notched the final two games to take the set, 6-1. They improved their perfect mark on court three to 5-0 and their conference record to 3-0.
No. 66 Markovic and Loncarevic entered the top court, facing higher-ranked No. 53 Bruno Nhavene and Luis Alvarez. In their second break chance, they took the lead with a 2-1 advantage. Each team traded games until the match stood at 4-3. The Sooners were able to level up, stealing back a break to reach a 5-5 stalemate eventually. Momentum was with Nhavene and Alvarez, who took the final two games to win the match against the Tigers, 7-5. The deciding doubles point would fall on the No. 2 court once again this season.
On court two, the No. 59 duo of Arutiunian and Ponce de Leon matched up with Alejandro Moreno and Hank Trondson. After splitting the opening games, the LSU pair fell behind early following a break that put the Sooners ahead 3-1. Arutiunian and Ponce de Leon steadily mounted a comeback, like they have many times this season, leveling the score at 3-3. Neither team was able to break free, holding serve through the middle stages, pushing the set to a tiebreak at 6-6. Trading blows back and forth until the 3-3 switch, Arutiunian and Ponce de Leon found another gear to put together a decisive four-point run, taking the match, 7-6(3). In their 13th win of the season – sixth in a row – the freshman-senior duo clinched the doubles point for the Tigers. LSU led Oklahoma, 1-0.
No. 54 Arutiunian stepped onto the second court in a showdown with No. 108 Lacides. The opening set began tightly, with each player logging their first two service games to split the first four. Arutiunian gained momentum halfway through, breaking serve to move ahead 3-2. He defended it with two more games in a row, and although Lacides was able to steal a break back, Arutiunian remained in rhythm to put the set away, 6-3. He stayed on a heater going into the second and seized control early. He stormed to a 3-0 advantage and never looked back. The Belarus native continued to dictate play; Lacides was only able to get one game on the scorecard before the set concluded at 6-1. Arutiunian moves to 13-2 on the season, pushing his match win streak to eight. He extended LSU’s lead over Oklahoma to 2-0.
Alessio Vasquez entered the fourth spot to duel Johan Rodriguez, but ran into an early deficit in the opening set. Rodriguez applied pressure from the start, breaking at his first two opportunities while holding serves to take a commanding 4-0 lead. Vasquez settled himself midway through, picking up two games to make it 4-2, but Rodrugues regained control down the stretch to finish the first set, 6-2. Vasquez found his footing in the second set, keeping it level through the early stages until a 2-2 stalemate. Here, Rodriguez broke through with a break that created a two-game margin at 4-2. Despite Vasquez battling to stay within reach, he surrendered two of the next three games as Rodriguez took the set, 6-3. He put Oklahoma on the board, but the Tigers still led the Sooners, 2-1.
Markovic, an absolute force on court five this season, took that position once more to battle Melero. Markovic got off to a slow start, falling 2-0 after suffering a break in his first service game. However, he fired right back and found his flow to bring the set to two games apiece. Neither player was able to create lasting separation, exchanging a pair of breaks yet again to push the set into a tiebreak. Here, Markovic took charge with a 4-2 advantage at the switch. From that point, he tallied three of the next five games to take the opening set, 7-6(4). Riding that momentum into the second set, Markovic fought hard to keep it close before striking for the decisive break to move ahead 4-2. He backed up with a composed service game, like he has done all season, to stretch the margin to 5-2 before closing the match with a convincing 6-2 second set. He improved his season mark to 12-3, posting a 7-2 record on court five. He put the Tigers a point away from beating the Sooners, at 3-1.
Fresh off his first SEC Player of the Week honors, Pieczkowski took on the top court against No. 45 Alvarez. The opening set proved a challenge for the freshman, as Alvarez got off to a quick start that consisted of multiple breaks. Unable to find his rhythm, Pieczkowski suffered a 6-1 loss in the opening frame. Looking to respond in the second, he competed to keep the margin thin, but ultimately fell to a 4-1 disadvantage for the second time this match. With nothing to lose, Pieczkowski attempted a comeback with a string of three games to level the set at 4-4. Back on serve, Alvarez cruised through the next two games, landing at 6-5. There, he delivered the final blow to Pieczkowski, breaking him to seal the match with a second set scoreline of 7-5. LSU still led Oklahoma, 3-2.
Kohlmann reentered the lineup for the Tigers, looking to make a statement on court six against No. 109 Harazaki. However, he quickly found himself trailing after an early break gave the Sooner a 3-0 advantage. Kohlmann found his groove, though, winning four of the next five games to bring the score to a level 4-4. From there, both players executed strong service games until a tiebreak was forced at 6-6. Kohlmann jumped out with the early 2-0 lead, which eventually extended to 6-4 and two set points. However, Harazaki would not go away easily, tying it at 6-6 before going back and forth until taking the set in a heart-racer at 7-6(7). Needing to respond in the second set, Kohlmann caught his opponent on his heels, surging to a 4-1 lead with the match appearing to require a deciding set. Despite that, Harazaki rallied and was able to make a late push, putting on an impressive five-game run to wrap the second set, 6-4. LSU and Oklahoma were tied at 3-3.
In a match full of uncertainty and countless swings of momentum, No. 117 Loncarevic shared the court with Orel Kimhi. After each player comfortably held their opening service games at 1-1, the next six games were composed of service breaks. Neither side could hold momentum for long, but Loncarevic finally managed to gain the upper hand, holding for a 5-4 edge. One more break wasn’t too much to ask, as the French native took the opening set, 6-4. The second set followed a similar script; both players had their chances to forge ahead, beginning with Loncarevic, as he took a 3-1 lead out of the gate. However, Kimhi notched three straight to give himself a 4-3 advantage. Loncarevic once again moved ahead at 5-4 with a match point, but Kimhi stayed alive to force the set back on serve. Undeterred, Loncarevic put on a decisive effort, breaking at 6-5 and finally securing the match with a 7-5 second set. Loncarevic hit the ten-match wins mark today, with a 10-4 record and a two-match winning streak. He clinched for LSU over Oklahoma, 4-3.
Up Next
LSU returns to the Plex on Sunday to host No. 11 Texas A&M at 12:00 p.m. CT, followed by a match with New Orleans at 4:00 p.m. CT. Pickleball will kick off at 10:00 a.m. CT on the indoor courts, including a Mike the Tiger Tennis hoodie giveaway for the first 100 fans.
Oklahoma vs LSU
March 13, 2026 at Baton Rouge, La
LSU Tennis Complex
#6 LSU 4, #28 Oklahoma 3
Singles competition
1. #45 Luis Alvarez (OU) def. Olaf Pieczkowski (LSU) 6-1, 7-5
2. #54 Erik Arutiunian (LSU) def. #108 Oscar Lacides (OU) 6-3, 6-1
3. #117 Andrej Loncarevic (LSU) def. Orel Kimhi (OU) 6-4, 7-5
4. Johan Rodriguez (OU) def. Alessio Vasquez (LSU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Sasa Markovic (LSU) def. Alejandro Melero (OU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
6. #109 Asahi Harazaki (OU) def. Enzo Kohlmann (LSU) 7-6 (9-7), 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #53 Bruno Nhavene/Luis Alvarez (OU) def. #66 Andrej Loncarevic/Sasa Markovic (LSU) 7-5
2. #59 Matias Ponce De Leon/Erik Arutiunian (LSU) def. Alejandro Melero/Hank Trondson (OU) 7-6 (7-3)
3. Enzo Kohlmann/Olaf Pieczkowski (LSU) def. Oscar Lacides/Asahi Harazaki (OU) 6-1
Match Notes:
Oklahoma 10-5; National ranking #28
LSU 18-2; National ranking #6
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,4,5,1,6,3)
Official: Ritchie Weaver