BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU women’s tennis trio Aran Teixidó Garcia, Anita Sahdiieva and Kinaa Graham punched their tickets to the singles quarterfinals of the 2023 ITA Southern Regional on Saturday on the championship courts of the LSU Tennis Complex.
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ITA Southern Regional – Singles Round of 32
Graham opened the day with a straight set victory over UAB’s Mackenzie White. Graham and White battled in a close first set, but the freshman from Austin, Texas came out on top by a margin of 6-4. The second set saw Graham take an early lead and not look back as she went on to win 6-3 and advance to the round of 16.
At the next court over, Florentine Dekkers faced Dharani Niroshan of Mississippi State in an SEC matchup. Dekkers claimed the first set, 6-3, before Niroshan replied with a 6-1 win in the second to extend the match. The decisive third set saw Niroshan stay on top of the match as she won 6-3 and booked her spot in the next round.
Sahdiieva took on Tulane’s Kristen Borland in her second round matchup. Sahdiieva blanked her opponent in the first set, 6-0, and rode momentum into the second as she won 6-3 to move on to the next round.
The final round of 32 match for the Tigers was Garcia, who took on Otoha Aoki of South Alabama. Garcia dropped only game in the first set as she won 6-1 before repeating the scoreline in the second to clinch a straight set victory and her place in the next round.
ITA Southern Regional – Singles Round of 16
Following the conclusion of the morning round, the round of 16 kicked off in the afternoon. Sahdiieva was the first Tiger off her court after she took down South Alabama’s Nikola Novotna in straight sets, 6-0, 6-3, on her way to the quarterfinal round.
Garcia was the next Tiger to advance to the quarterfinals after earning a straight set win over Mississippi State’s Briana Crowley. Garcia edged her opponent in the first set, 6-4, and stayed on top in the second to win 6-3 and earn her spot in the quarterfinal.
In the final single match of the afternoon, Graham faced Alabama’s Anna Parkhomenko. The two traded games in the first set, requiring a tiebreaker after splitting 12 games at 6-6. Parkhomenko claimed the tiebreaker, 7-1, and took the lead. The Crimson Tide player took an early lead in the second set and led after seven games at 5-2, but Graham stormed back by winning five consecutive games to win 7-5 and extend the match. With momentum on her side, Graham coasted to a 6-2 third set victory that saw her clinch the match and advance to the quarterfinal.
ITA Southern Regional – Doubles Round of 32
The evening session saw the main draw of the doubles bracket open for play. Dekkers and Garcia teamed together to take on Louisiana Tech’s Olga Bienzobas and Alexia Romero. The LSU pair was dominant, dropping only one game as they claimed an 8-1 win to advance.
Sahdiieva and Graham rounded the night out with a match against Adela Wasserbauerova and Sydney Clarke of UAB. The LSU pair had a slow start to the match, but bounced back with a strong finish as they won 8-5 to secure their spot in the next round.
Up Next
Garcia, Graham and Sahdiieva will open the day in the singles quarterfinal at 10 a.m. CT on Sunday. Following the round of singles, Garcia/Dekkers and Graham/Sahdiieva will compete in the second round of doubles at 2 p.m. CT with a chance to advance to the quarterfinal round at 3:30 p.m. CT.
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ITA Southern Regional – Day 3
Oct. 7, 2023
Baton Rouge, La. (LSU Tennis Complex)
Singles Round of 32
Kinaa Graham (LSU) def. Mackenzie White (UAB), 6-4, 6-3
Dharani Niroshan (MSU) def. Florentine Dekkers (LSU), 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
Anita Sahdiieva (LSU) def. Kristen Borland (TUL), 6-0, 6-3
Aran Teixido-Garcia (LSU) def. Otoha Aoki (USA), 6-1, 6-1
Singles Round of 16
Anita Sahdiieva (LSU) def. Nikola Novotna (USA), 6-0, 6-3
Aran Teixido-Garcia (LSU) def. Briana Crowley (MISS), 6-4, 6-3
Kinaa Graham (LSU) def. Anna Parkhomenko (ALA), 6-7 (1), 7-5, 6-2
Doubles Round of 32
Florentine Dekkers/Aran Teixido-Garcia (LSU) def. Olga Bienzobas /Alexia Romero (LAT), 8-1
Anita Sahdiieva/Kinaa Graham (LSU) def. Adela Wasserbauerova/Sydney Clarke (UAB) 8-5
Singles – Consolation
Sean Mullen (TUL) def. Carina Holguin (LSU), 6-0, 6-1
Maria Guirguis (TROY) def. Emma Grant (LSU), 6-1, 6-0
Hagar Ramadan (TROY) def. Caroline Arnold (LSU), 6-0, 6-1
SCHEDULE OF PLAY
ITA Southern Regional – Day 4
Sunday, Oct. 8
All Times Central
Singles Quarterfinals
Anita Sahdiieva vs. Ludmila Kareisova (OM), 10am
Kinaa Graham (LSU) vs. Margaux Maquet (UA), 10am
Aran Teixidó Garcia (LSU) vs. Ava Hrastar (OM), 10am
Doubles Round of 16 (Winner moves on to Quarterfinal match at 3:30pm)
Dekkers/Garcia (LSU) vs. Adeikyte/Gamretkaia, 2pm
Graham/Sahdiieva (LSU) vs. Lopez/Mauro (SAM), 2pm