No. 7-Seeded LSU Unable to Rally; Falls to Pepperdine, 4-3, in NCAA Regional Final
BATON ROUGE, La – No 7-seeded LSU suffered a 4-3 loss to Pepperdine in the NCAA Regional Final, going down in the round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament today at the LSU Tennis Complex.
LSU concluded its season with an impressive 26-7 record, while Pepperdine moves to 19-9.
“We got off to a good start in doubles, winning on courts one and two,” said head coach Danny Bryan. “We certainly didn’t play our best in the first set on a lot of courts, which got us behind. However, I felt we made a comeback and gained momentum in a lot of the second sets. It was unfortunate that Andrej [Loncarevic] got hurt – he’s been so solid for us all year. Same thing with Matias [Ponce de Leon], as he’s won so many big matches. Olaf [Pieczkowski] stepped up so much and played extremely well, so we still had a shot.”
When reflecting on the match and the season, Bryan said, “Going in, we knew it was going to be a close match. We knew it was going to be the difference of a couple of points here and there, and we didn’t play our best. It is tough to process it right now, but it was an amazing season.”
Doubles play opened on court two with a matchup between Erik Arutiunian and Ponce de Leon versus Lasse Poertner and Gustavo Almeida. The freshman-senior pair surged from the start, opening with a break at their first opportunity to take a 2-0 lead. The Waves couldn’t find their footing on serve as the Tigers moved forward with authority, taking three more games to complete the five-game stretch. Poertner and Almeida got a game on the board at 5-1, but it wasn’t enough to halt Arutiunian and Ponce de Leon’s momentum. With a 6-1 win, the duo pushed their win streak to six to wrap up their season together, hitting the 20-win mark with a 20-6 record.
At the third spot, Enzo Kohlmann and Pieczkowski began in a tight battle against Maxi Homberg and Aleksa Pisaric. The Tigers held on in the opening stages by keeping the score level at 1-1 and again at 2-2. From there, the Waves took consecutive games to forge ahead 4-2. Kohlmann and Pieczkowski responded with a break of their own to get back on serve, 4-3. At a 4-4 stalemate, the set appeared to be going the distance; however, with a 5-4 lead, Homberg and Pisaric landed the decisive blow with the final break to win, 6-4. The Tiger duo ended their season with a 9-6 mark.
The top court featured a ranked showdown between No. 15 Sasa Markovic and Loncarevic versus No. 49 Edward Winter and David Fix. The match was tense from the outset, each team advancing through the opening stages with commanding serves. At 3-3, the sophomore pair logged the key break to go ahead 4-3, before building a two-game cushion at 5-3. The Waves earned another service game to close the gap at 5-4, but it ultimately wasn’t enough. The Tigers served it out at 6-4, earning their 14th win, seventh over a ranked opponent, to wrap up their season. LSU took the lead over Pepperdine, 1-0.
No. 34 Arutiunian shared court two with Poertner in a one-sided battle. Each player settled into the match in their first service games, reaching a 1-1 score. From here, Arutiunian went on a run – he started with a hold at 2-1, and followed it up with a break to go ahead 3-1. The freshman remained in firm control of the set, continuing his stretch through the closing stages to put the first set to bed at 6-1. After trading early holds in the second set, momentum swung back and forth. At 2-2, Arutiunian looked to take authority again with a break at 3-2, but Poertner leveled it again at 3-3. Undeterred, the Belarus native edged ahead once more at 4-3 before widening the gap at 5-3. Imposing his will, Arutiunian broke in the final game of the match, earning a second-set 6-3 win. He wrapped up his season on a three-match win streak with a 21-6 singles mark. LSU increased its lead, beating Pepperdine 2-0.
At the fifth spot, Alessio Vasquez battled through a three-set contest against Homberg. The set remained tight through the opening stages, both players threatening to break but neither able to convert. At a 4-3 deficit, Homberg captured the first and decisive break of the set to take a 5-3 advantage. The Wave wrapped up his three-game streak to close it out, 6-3. The following set contained multiple momentum swings after reaching a 1-1 stalemate. Homberg struck first with a break at 2-1 before Vasquez fired right back to level it, 2-2. Neither player could hold serve for back-to-back games until the German native finally created separation at 5-3. He was able to hold off any chance of a comeback, taking the third set, 6-3. In the decider, Vasquez maintained his momentum with a break at 1-0. From here, however, Homberg ran away with the set. He got back on serve at 1-1, embarking on his six-game streak to dominate the decider, 6-1. Vasquez concluded his season with a 9-7 record. Pepperdine got on the board, LSU leading 2-1.
Kohlmann and Fix entered the sixth spot in a tense first set. After splitting the opening games, Kohlmann went up a break at 2-1, though Fix fired right back to level the score at 2-2. Kohlmann regained his footing, eventually building a 5-3 advantage while putting Fix in the pressure position. The Wave, however, mounted a late comeback, rattling off four straight games to claim the opener, 7-5. The second set followed a similar pattern as both players exchanged early breaks. Kohlmann regained momentum with another break on the way to a 3-1 advantage. Fix didn’t back down, leveling it 4-4 before moving ahead 5-4 and putting the Brazilian native on the brink. Nonetheless, Kohlmann saved two match points en route to a second-set tiebreak upon reaching 6-6. Fix quickly grabbed control with a commanding 6-0 lead at the switch and didn’t let up. He ended up taking the set 7-6(1), tying the score – LSU 2, Pepperdine 2. Kohlmann closed his season with a 10-10 record.
At the top spot once again was No. 26 Pieczkowski, taking on Winter in a match that took a sharp turn midway through. The two traded games through the early stages, Pieczkowski working hard to keep the score level at 2-2. Winter eventually found the breakthrough with a key return game for a 4-2 advantage. He maintained the edge down the stretch, preventing the freshman from coming back, as he took the first set, 6-3. The script was flipped in the second, as Pieczkowski answered with a composed response. From the outset, he matched Winter game-for-game through a series of tight exchanges, eventually landing at 3-3. The Polish native continued to apply pressure down the stretch. At 5-4, with a chance to seal the set, Pieczkowski converted his first break of the match to wrap it, 6-4, giving himself the advantage going into the third. Here, he continued to fire and quickly made it known that this set belonged to him. Pieczkowski immediately seized control with an early break at 2-0 and never looked back, dictating play the rest of the way. He raced out to a 5-0 advantage before capping off the set and the match, posting a flawless 6-0 score. He concluded his season on a three-match win streak with a 10-7 mark, putting LSU in the lead once again over Pepperdine, 3-2.
On court four, Ponce de Leon dueled Almeida in a gritty opening set. The two stayed even in the opening games, neither able to land a decisive blow to forge ahead. At 2-2, Almeida sparked a momentum swing with consecutive games to move ahead 4-2. Ponce de Leon continued to apply pressure, keeping the gap at a minimum with 4-3 and 5-4 deficits. Ultimately, he couldn’t find the opportunity to get back on serve as Almeida closed the first set, 6-4. The Spaniard responded with a strong start in the second set, signaling he would not go away easily. He quickly worked his way to a 3-0 lead and appeared to be running away with the set. However, Almeida later converted a break to cut the lead to 4-3. The Tiger moved forward with powerful service games until the set entered a tiebreak. Ponce de Leon raced out to an early lead, reeling off four straight points before Almeda got on the board. He wrapped the set 7-6(1), forcing the all-important decider. The final set opened with immediate drama as the Tiger fought back from 40-0 in the opening game to make a statement, securing an early break for a 1-0 lead. The Wave was not shaken, quickly answering to even the score at 1-1 and then again at 2-2. From here, Almeida pulled away, getting out of striking distance with a four-game stretch to conclude the set, 6-2. Ponce de Leon ended his season with an 18-9 record. It all came down to court three – LSU 3, Pepperdine 3.
No 111 Loncarevic battled in another marathon match with Pisaric at the third spot. The opening set remained close as both players found their footing, reaching an even 2-2. Pisaric was knocking on the door and broke through, stealing a game that eventually mounted his lead to 4-2. Loncarevic attempted to rally, but came up short as the first set found its closure at 6-2. The Tiger was able to turn it around in the second with a resilient performance. After staying level through the first four games, he appeared to take control with a break that was immediately returned by Pisaric. Later, the French native faced two match points while trailing 5-4; he refused to back down, battling his way to 5-5 before using the energy to go ahead 6-5. Loncarevic served out the set on a three-game run, winning 7-5 to force a deciding third. Once again, the final set stayed competitive early, with both players splitting the opening four games to reach 2-2. Somebody needed to step up, and this time it was Pisaric to elevate his level. He found his flow, and Loncarevic was unable to regain his mojo. The Wave reeled off the final four games to secure the set, 6-2. Loncarevic closed his season out with an impressive 18-7 mark. LSU was downed by Pepperdine, 4-3.
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Pepperdine vs LSU
May 02, 2026 at Baton Rouge, La
LSU Tennis Complex
#27 Pepperdine 4, #7 LSU 3
Singles competition
1. #26 Olaf Pieczkowski (LSU) def. Edward Winter (PEPP) 3-6, 6-4, 6-0
2. #34 Erik Arutiunian (LSU) def. Lasse Poertner (PEPP) 6-1, 6-3
3. Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP) def. #111 Andrej Loncarevic (LSU) 6-2, 5-7, 6-2
4. Gustavo Almeida (PEPP) def. Matias Ponce De Leon (LSU) 6-4, 6-7 (1-7), 6-2
5. Maxi Homberg (PEPP) def. Alessio Vasquez (LSU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
6. David Fix (PEPP) def. Enzo Kohlmann (LSU) 7-5, 7-6 (7-1)
Doubles competition
1. #15 Sasa Markovic/Andrej Loncarevic (LSU) def. #49 Edward Winter/David Fix (PEPP) 6-4
2. Erik Arutiunian/Matias Ponce De Leon (LSU) def. Lasse Poertner/Gustavo Almeida (PEPP) 6-1
3. Maxi Homberg/Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP) def. Enzo Kohlmann/Olaf Pieczkowski (LSU) 6-4
Match Notes:
Pepperdine 19-9; National ranking #27
LSU 26-7; National ranking #7
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,5,6,1,4,3)
Official: Ritchie Weaver