No. 3-Seeded LSU Meets No. 6-Seeded Georgia in SEC Tournament Quarterfinals
BATON ROUGE, La – No. 5 LSU will begin its SEC Tournament campaign after capping off its regular season with a 24-5 record, going 10-4 in the conference. They will open on Friday, April 17, against No. 12 Georgia at 2:00 p.m. CT in Bryan-College Station, Texas, at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
As the end-of-season standings came down to the wire, LSU was drawn as the No. 3 seed in the tournament, earning itself a bye in the first two rounds and advancing to the quarterfinals. Their opponents, No. 6 seed Georgia, played their first match of the tournament today at 2:00 p.m. CT, where they downed No. 11 seed Kentucky, 4-2
Live results will be provided for Friday’s match against Georgia through https://lsul.su/4tiDTq2. Live video will not be available for this match.
Should LSU advance, the semifinals on Saturday, April 18, at 1:00 p.m. CT, will provide live results at https://lsul.su/3QqBUBk and be streamed by SEC Network+ on ESPN through https://lsul.su/4ceCoTF. For the championship match on Sunday, April 19, at 12:00 p.m. CT, live results will be found at https://lsul.su/4mxfhY7, and streaming will be provided by SEC Network on ESPN at https://lsul.su/4sGtx22.
“I feel like the guys are in a really good place mentally and physically,” said head coach Danny Bryan. “They’re confident and have been very focused in practice, while off the court, they’ve been enjoying their time together as a team. We are looking forward to getting started tomorrow.”
LSU dominated in its last outing, defeating then-No. 22 Kentucky, 4-1, to conclude the regular season on a high note. The Tigers extended their record to 24-5 with a 10-4 SEC mark.
LSU is currently No. 5 in the nation, riding a four-match winning streak with a convincing 5-1 record at neutral sites this season. Coming in as the No. 3 seed in the tournament, LSU only sits behind No. 2 Mississippi State and No. 1 Texas. After the latest ITA rankings, the duo representing the Tigers is No. 14 Sasa Markovic and Andrej Loncarevic, remaining steady as a top team in the nation. In singles, holding the highest spot on the team is No. 25 Erik Arutiunian, who primarily anchors the second spot. Following him is fellow freshman, No. 28 Olaf Pieczkowski, who has taken the top court in every appearance this season. Finally, moving back up for the purple and gold is No. 106 Loncarevic.
LSU not only looks to advance in the SEC tournament, but also to achieve yet another milestone this campaign – the Tigers have not defeated the Bulldogs since 1999. Furthermore, in the opening weekend of SEC play, LSU suffered its only sweep all season against Georgia, getting downed 4-0. Georgia finished its regular season on a two-match win streak with a 17-7 mark, going 9-5 in conference play. One doubles pairing is featured for the Bulldogs in the latest edition of the ITA rankings: No. 12 Arda Azkara and Santiago Giamichelle. In singles, the three representatives who highlight the lineup for Georgia are No. 40 Azkara, No. 42 William Jansen, and No. 101 Giamichelle. At the helm for the Bulldogs is Jamie Hunt. Having been part of the program’s 2007 and 2008 national title teams as a player before returning to Athens as a coach, he brings experience to the tournament. Now in his second season as head coach, he extended their NCAA Tournament streak. With deep roots in the program and proven success at multiple levels, he’s preparing to lead this Georgia group for an extended time.
In the second week of SEC play, Pieczkowski earned the SEC Player of the Week award thanks to his comeback victory over then No. 4 Sebastian Gorzny in LSU’s signature 4-3 win over then No. 2 Texas. Last weekend, Pieczkowski overwhelmed higher-ranked No. 20 Eli Stephenson, controlling the match and posting a 6-2, 6-1 scoreline. He rounded out his regular season 8-7, capturing five wins over ranked opponents in addition to five conference takedowns. Furthermore, in doubles, he and Enzo Kohlmann have stepped up at the third spot. The two hold an 8-4 record and went 5-3 in the SEC.
Kohlmann has made quite the impression upon returning to the singles lineup. He posts a 9-8 mark entering the tournament, riding a two-match win streak. Kohlmann is getting hot at the right time, looking to make an impact in College Station this weekend.
Two-time SEC Freshman of the Week winner Arutiunian shone bright in his first-year campaign and is looking to continue rolling. After taking home the honors in ITA Kickoff Weekend, which helped LSU advance to the ITA National Indoor Team Championships for the first time in 20 years, he followed it up with strong outings versus Oklahoma and then-No. 11 Texas A&M to win the second time. The Belarus native will bounce back after dropping his final match against Kentucky. Arutiunian stands out on the stat sheet; he holds an 18-5 record on the season with a 9-3 conference mark – both win totals are the highest on the team. Additionally, he captured a team-high of nine wins over ranked opponents. Approaching his first run at the postseason, Arutiunian aims to come out firing just as he has all season.
Ponce de Leon has been featured on court two with Arutiunian the entire season. Against Kentucky, they delivered their second ranked win of the year, taking down No. 89 Martin Breysach and Jaden Weekes with authority, 6-2. Together, their record moved to 16-6, logging eight wins in SEC play. In singles, he embraced the crowd on his Senior Day to maintain momentum, moving past Mikael Arseneault on court five, 6-3, 6-2. The Spaniard heads into the postseason with a 17-7 season mark, having notched seven conference wins while riding a four-match win streak.
To no surprise, Loncarevic clinched another match for the Tigers in last weekend’s bout with Kentucky. At the third spot, he defeated No. 78 Jack Loutit, 6-1, 6-4, securing the match for LSU for the sixth time this season and third in a row. Another remarkable effort extended his win streak to six – the highest on the team – as well as pushing his record to 16-5 with a 9-3 conference mark and capturing his third ranked win of the season. In doubles, he and Markovic have made every appearance together on the top court with a 13-5 total, checking in with a 7-4 record in the conference. Last week, they ended their regular season with a bang as they clinched the doubles point with another significant win over No. 16 Stephenson and Loutit, 6-4. With a two-match win streak, the pair brings consistency and firepower to College Station as the No. 14 team in the nation. Markovic also carries a 14-7 season mark with four conference wins in singles.
Last week, Alessio Vasquez was on the verge of a comeback versus No. 97 Charlelie Cosnet before the match went unfinished. Primarily at the fourth spot this season, the junior has continued to display reliability and trustworthiness, greatly enhancing the lineup upon his return from injury at the start of SEC play. Since then, he has improved to 7-5, capturing four conference wins and a ranked victory. Fellow junior Rudy Ceccon, in his recent appearances, moved to 7-2 and a perfect 6-0 on court six, with a two-match win streak before the regular season wrapped up. Both juniors will be able to provide the experience and leadership that the young team is relying on.
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