Women’s Tennis Has Three in ITA Southern Regional Singles Semifinal; Two Duos in Doubles Semifinal

BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU women’s tennis team had three singles players and two doubles duos advance to the semifinals of the 2023 ITA Women’s Southern Regional on Sunday inside the LSU Tennis Complex. In singles, Aran Teixidó Garcia, Aniita Sahdiieva and Kinaa Graham advanced to the semifinal while the doubles duo of Sahdiieva/Graham and Garcia/Florentine Dekkers punched their tickets to Monday’s semifinal round.

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ITA Southern Regional – Singles Quarterfinals
The day began at 10 a.m. local time as three Tigers played for a chance to advance. Graham took on Alabama’s Margaux Maquet. Graham went down in the first set, but battled back as she overcame a two game deficit to win the set, 6-4. The second set also went to Graham, who won 6-3 and advanced to Monday’s semifinal.

Garcia, the No. 2 seed in the region, continued her strong play at the tournament as she picked up a straight set win over Ava Hrastar of Ole Miss. Garcia claimed the first set, 6-3, and repeated the scoreline in the second to advance.

Sahdiieva took on Ole Miss’ Ludmila Kareisova, who was the top ranked seed in the bracket. Sahdiieva took an early lead and never dropped it as she claimed the first, 6-3. The second set played out like the first, with Sahdiieva  taking the lead and repeating the 6-3 scoreline to upset the region’s top seed and earn her spot in the semifinal round.

ITA Southern Regional – Doubles Round of 16
Doubles action began at 2 p.m. local time with two Tiger duos looking to continue their campaigns in the regional. Dekkers and Garcia faced McNeese State’s Anastasija Adeikyte and Arina Gamretkaia. The LSU pair was dominant, dropping only two games in the pro game set as on their way to an 8-2 win.

Graham and Sahdiieva were in action on the next court over, facing Alexis Lopez and Noelle Mauro of Samford. The Tiger pair played strong tennis, jumping out to a large lead at the start and

ITA Southern Regional – Doubles Quarterfinals
Less than an hour later, both doubles pairs were back on court for their quarterfinal matches. Dekkers and Garcia faced UAB’s Mackenzie White and Vanessa Mellynchuk. The LSU pair took an early lead and remained in control as they won 8-4 and booked their spot in the semifinal.

Sahdiieva and Graham faced SEC opposition in the form of Kelsey Mize and Emma Kette of Ole Miss. The pair jumped in front in the first game and never trailed in the match as they went on to win 8-4 to advance to Monday’s semifinal round.

Up Next
The singles semifinal round will start at 10 a.m. CT on Monday. Garcia will face Alabama’s Petra Sedlackova in her semifinal match while Graham and Sahdiieva will face off in an LSU vs. LSU matchup for a spot in the final round.

At 2 p.m. CT, the trio will return to the court to play in the doubles semifinal. Dekkers and Garcia will face Mississippi State’s Mikhailuk and Pitta while Graham and Sahdiieva will take on Alabama’s Sedlackova and Maquet.

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ITA Southern Regional – Day 4
Oct. 8, 2023
Baton Rouge, La. (LSU Tennis Complex)

Singles Quarterfinals
Kinaa Graham (LSU) def. Margaux Maquet (ALA), 6-4, 6-3
Aran Teixido-Garcia (LSU) def. Ava Hrastar (Ole Miss), 6-3, 6-3
Anita Sahdiieva (LSU) def. Ludmila Kareisova (Ole Miss), 6-3, 6-3

Doubles Round of 16
Anita Sahdiieva/Kinaa Graham (LSU) def. Alexis Lopez/Noelle Mauro (Samford) 8-3
Florentine Dekkers/Aran Teixido-Garcia (LSU) def. Anastasija Adeikyte/Arina Gamretkaia (McNeese) 8-2

Doubles Quarterfinals
Florentine Dekkers/Aran Teixido-Garcia (LSU) def. Mackenzie White/Vanessa Mellynchuk (UAB) 8-4
Anita Sahdiieva/Kinaa Graham (LSU) def. Kelsey Mize/Emma Kette (Ole Miss) 8-4

Singles – Consolation
Ava Esposito-Cogan (AUB) def. Emma Grant (LSU), 6-1, 6-4
Florentine Dekkers (LSU) def. Kaitlyn Carcinella (AUB), 6-1, 6-2
Sydney Clark (UAB) def. Carolina Arnold (LSU), 6-0, 6-2
Margaret Jaraczewski (SAM) def. Carina Holguin (LSU) 6-2, 6-2

SCHEDULE OF PLAY
ITA Southern Regional – Day 5
Sunday, Oct. 8
All Times Central

Singles Semifinals
Anita Sahdiieva (LSU) vs. Kinaa Graham (LSU), 10am
Aran Teixidó Garcia (LSU) vs. Petra Sedlackova (ALA), 10am

Doubles Semifinals
Dekkers/Garcia (LSU) vs. Mikhailuk/Pitta (MSU), 2pm
Graham/Sahdiieva (LSU) vs. Sedlackova/Maquet (ALA), 2pm