TIGER RAG NEWS SERVICES
No. 111 Andrej Loncarevic earned his seventh clinch of the season, winning in straight sets over Martin Catrice, 6-1, 6-4, and No. 7 seed LSU swept Alabama, 4-0, in the first round of the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional at the LSU Tennis Complex on Friday.
LSU improves to 26-6, while Alabama State closes its season with a 10-10 record.
“I felt that we were a little sloppy for sure in some spots today,” LSU coach Danny Bryan said. “Maybe it was because of the excitement of playing in front of so many people, and the guys wanted to play well. Moving forward, it was probably what we needed to get going again. This season, when we’ve had a match like that, I feel like the guys have really responded well. And I expect no different from them.”
LSU will face Pepperdine (18-9) in the NCAA Regional final at approximately 5 p.m. Saturday. Tickets for Saturday’s match can be purchased here.
“Pepperdine is a really good team,” Bryan said. “We are excited about the challenge and for another great crowd. I want to thank everyone for coming out today, and we’re going to need their help tomorrow.”
At the second spot, LSU’s freshman-senior pair of Erik Arutiunian and Matias Ponce de Leon came out firing against Matteo Lataste and Martin Catrice. After holding serve in the opening game, they converted the first break of the match before the score advanced to a commanding 3-0. Arutiunian and Ponce de Leon overwhelmed their opponents with a final score of 6-1. The pair now holds a 19-6 record and improves their win streak to five.
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