No. 7 LSU Closes Road Slate at No. 13 South Carolina, No. 21 Florida
BATON ROUGE, La – The No. 7 LSU men’s tennis team, currently 21-5 this campaign and 7-4 in SEC play, will visit No. 13 South Carolina on Thursday, April 2, at 12:00 p.m. CT at the Carolina Tennis Center. The Tigers will then wrap up their road trip against No. 21 Florida on Saturday, April 4, at 11:00 a.m. CT at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
Live stats will be provided for Thursday’s match against South Carolina through https://lsul.su/4bRAcjv, and live video through https://lsul.su/4dZ7TCi. For Saturday’s action, results for Florida can be followed through https://lsul.su/4bY1kO3, and live video through https://lsul.su/4cewced.
“Our guys have grown a lot over the last couple of months,” said head coach Danny Bryan. “They know that every match in the SEC is tough, and if you don’t come ready mentally and physically, you won’t like the outcome. We are excited about the challenges ahead and will be ready to battle.”
LSU traded wins last week, opening with a 5-2 loss against then No. 23 Auburn before rebounding against then No. 17 Vanderbilt, 4-1. With a 21-5 record, the Tigers look to make more history this weekend and surpass their highest win total since 2005. LSU is currently No. 7 in the latest ITA rankings, carrying a convincing 5-2 mark on the road entering the next slate of matches. Furthermore, with just two weeks left in the regular season, the purple and gold are 7-4 in conference play, landing them at No. 4 in the current SEC standings, only behind Mississippi State, Texas, and Texas A&M. The ranked duo representing LSU is No. 17 Sasa Markovic and Andrej Loncarevic, led by their powerful serves and commanding net play. In singles, No. 27 Erik Arutiunian highlights the lineup primarily at the second spot, followed by fellow freshman No. 42 Olaf Pieczkowski, who has taken on the top court in every appearance this season. Finally, making his way back into the rankings is No. 104 Loncarevic, thanks to his relentless grind featured mainly on court three.
LSU enters its matchup with South Carolina leading the all-time series 30-21. The purple and gold are seeking to get back in the win column since getting downed at home last year, 4-2, after notching a ranked win over the Gamecocks the year before. South Carolina enters the match riding a three-match win streak, pushing their season mark to 13-5 and going 6-4 in SEC play. Furthermore, they look to extend their 7-5 home record. Three doubles pairings are featured for the Gamecocks in the latest edition of the ITA rankings: No. 15 Paul Barbier Gazeu and Lucas Andrade da Silva, No. 63 Sean Daryabeigi and Andrade da Silva, and No. 90 Max Stenzer with Daryabeigi. In singles, the three representatives who highlight the lineup for South Carolina are No. 12 Andrade da Silva, No. 56 Daryabeigi, and No. 105 Barbier Gazeu. Head coach Josh Goffi, now in his 15th season, has led the Gamecocks to 11 NCAA Tournament appearances and multiple top-25 finishes. His tenure has produced All-Americans, an NCAA singles champion, and a recent stretch of ranked wins and deep postseason runs. Under his leadership, the teams hold a 253-163 record, backed by strong recruiting classes and a historic 2025 season finishing second in the conference.
LSU has 28 wins over Florida all-time, looking to capture its first victory over the Gators since 2019. Florida enters with a win in their last match, going 12-10 and 4-6 in SEC play with a 5-6 mark at home this season. The lone representatives for the Gators in the ITA doubles rankings are the top-10 duo, No. 8 Tanapatt Nirundorn and Henry Jefferson. Additionally, four players headline their lineup for singles: No. 48 Pablo Perez Ramos, No. 60 Jefferson, No. 81 Jeremy Jin, and No. 96 Adhithya Ganesan. At the helm for the Gators is Adam Steinberg. Hired in 2023, he brings over three decades of experience across four Division I programs. He led Pepperdine to a national championship in 2006 and turned Michigan into a consistent contender, highlighted by seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances and recent quarterfinal runs. Steinberg has developed All-Americans, conference standouts, and a national singles champion while maintaining strong academic performance across his rosters.
In the second week of conference play, Pieczkowski was awarded SEC Player of the Week honors thanks to his signature comeback victory over then No. 4 Sebastian Gorzny in LSU’s statement 4-3 win over No. 2 Texas. He continued to anchor the marquee court last weekend, competing in two difficult matches, including a three-set duel against Vanderbilt. Pieczkowski’s season mark advanced to 7-7, including four wins over ranked opponents in addition to four SEC takedowns. Beyond that, partnering up with Enzo Kohlmann at the third doubles spot, the duo completed a come-from-behind victory in Nashville, where they once trailed 3-0 before reeling off six-straight games to clinch the all-important doubles point with a score of 6-3. The pair improved to a 6-2 record at that spot and a 7-3 record overall, all while logging four conference wins.
Arutiunian has been given SEC Freshman of the Week honors twice – the first time due to his play in the ITA Kickoff weekend that helped advance the Tigers to the ITA National Indoor Team Championships for the first time in 20 years, and most recently, driven by strong outings against conference opponents Oklahoma and then No. 11 Texas A&M. He earned his way back into the win column on Sunday, defeating then No. 70 Hoyoung Roh from Vanderbilt, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. With a 16-4 record and a 7-2 conference mark, the freshman has tallied the most wins on the team in both categories. In addition, in doubles with partner Ponce de Leon, they’ve moved their season mark to 14-5, going 6-4 in SEC play and a ranked win to top it off.
Ponce de Leon was the only Tiger to win both of his singles matches last weekend, kicking it off with an overwhelming 6-1, 6-2 victory at the sixth spot against Auburn’s Manel Lazaro. He followed up that performance against Vanderbilt, moving up to court five and prevailing in a three-set marathon, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, that clinched the match for LSU. Ponce de Leon has logged the second-most wins on the team with a 15-7 mark, 5-4 in conference play. He has seven combined wins on courts five and six, where he has made most of his appearances since SEC play began, continuing to provide necessary depth to the roster.
Loncarevic had another impressive outing last week, fueling his rise back into the rankings. Before going unfinished in Nashville, where he was in a decisive third set, the sophomore defeated Auburn’s Nicholas Heng 6-4, 6-2. Loncarevic currently rides a three-match win streak – the highest on the team – as well as pushing his record to 13-5 with a 6-3 conference mark and capturing two ranked wins this season. In doubles, he and Markovic have made every appearance together on the top court with an 11-4 total, standing at 5-4 in SEC play. With four ranked wins under their belts, including a commanding 6-2 win over No. 4 Petar Jovanovic and Benito Martinez from Mississippi State, the duo has propelled to No. 17 in the nation while providing reliability and firepower all season. Markovic also carries a 14-6 season mark with four conference wins in singles.
On Sunday versus Vanderbilt, Alessio Vasquez’s match went unfinished, though he was up two games and a break in the third set. Primarily at the fourth spot this season, the junior has continued to display stability and leadership, bolstering the lineup upon his return from injury at the start of SEC play. Since then, he has improved to 7-4, capturing four conference wins and a ranked victory.
Fellow Junior Rudy Ceccon made his return to the starting lineup last weekend. After taking the court with Pieczkowski in doubles against Auburn, he resumed against Vanderbilt to highlight court six in his first singles SEC start this campaign. In fact, he secured the first win for the Tigers, putting them ahead 2-1 with his 6-2, 7-5 victory over Callum Markowitz. Ceccon notched his first conference win of the season, pushing his mark to 7-2 – a perfect 6-0 on court six – while riding a two-match win streak.
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