For the first time since 2009, the LSU men’s tennis team hosted an NCAA regional on home court advantage and this was nothing short of a remarkable season that fell flat in the most critical moments.
Starting off on Friday evening, facing off against Alabama State University, the time had come. With momentum, and no sign of slowing down, it was now or never to move onto Saturday afternoon in a single elimination set.
Pepperdine had just advanced to the finals minutes before LSU took to the court to start the doubles matches with a familiar-looking lineup that was positioned to make for a strong showing against the Hornets.
Taking the lead almost immediately in all three courts, the Tigers had an energy in the air that was brewing greatness. On court one and five, taking the double point with a 6-1 score while already sitting with a 1-0 lead.
As the singles were under way, the crowd of a packed out ‘Plex’ seemed to fuel the Tigers as they kept grabbing singles wins, making the race to four points seem like a walk in the park.
Alessio Vasquez started it off with the first single point, followed by Eric Arutiunian on court two and then the clinch point secured by the freshman Andrej Loncarevic. After a tough doubles loss, he bounced back, and now pushed the Tigers to advance to the regional championship.
The bar had already been exceeded, LSU was just reaching for the next big thing: a super regional host at home for the first time since 2009.
With the anticipation building as the championship match began, the crowds shuffled in, looking to watch history be made for a team that wasn’t supposed to make it this far. Not only the team chemistry, the grit and determination from head coach Danny Bryan has made for an unlikely season.
With a consistent lineup from the beginning of the season, these six players shone bright under every light that was pointed at them. They never cracked under pressure is not guaranteed, but any win that can be grabbed should never be sacrificed.
As the championship match began against the Pepperdine Waves, this top matchup of the two best in the regional was going to be a dog fight till the end for LSU. Cruising to an easy doubles win for Matias Ponce De Leon and Arutiunian, was paired with two close matches on court one and three.
With a tug-of-war for game points, the players’ energy fed into the crowd, making it the loudest it’s been this season, and all of a sudden, the once back-and-forth became a breakaway showing of the power LSU is bringing to the table.
Just like that, it came down to a single court with each team claiming one doubles win. It became crucial for the Tigers to jump ahead in points to claim the championship win. And with the final swing from Pepperdine to hit it out and the race to four points just became a whole lot closer for LSU.
The once dream of getting to the postseason had started to slip away as the singles were taking place, as there were no longer three winning LSU courts. Instead, there were four winning Pepperdine courts, forcing LSU to play from behind hoping to force a third set in five courts.
After holding a 2-1 lead, three courts were fighting to dig back slowly but surely, LSU forcing third sets with a successful win on court one with freshman standout Olaf Pieczkowski coming back in the last two sets.
Down to just two courts, just one win is what it would take to continue on to the path to Athens to compete for a national championship. With the score now tied 3-3, all eyes were on freshman Loncarevic as he was going into the final match with a 5-2 lead in the third set.
But he would drop the set, and put the Tigers behind Pepperdine, drawing the historical season to an end in the final moments.
Pepperdine’s 4-3 win secures them a spot in the super regional round.
