BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 9 LSU Women’s Tennis travels to New Orleans, La. for a midweek matchup against Tulane on Thursday, Feb. 13 at City Park Tennis Center at 2:00 p.m. CT.
According to the ITA, LSU holds a team ranking of No. 9, tying for the program’s best in-season ranking the club has received (2016, 2021). The Tigers 7-1 record marks the best season start since 2021, finishing as No. 17.
LSU’s involvement at the ITA National Indoor Championships concluded with wins over No. 6 UCLA, 4-2, and a program-best ranked win over No. 3 Oklahoma State, 4-0.
In the spring campaign, LSU holds an overall 24-9 singles and 15-2 doubles mark, with five singles and doubles ranked victories. LSU has clinched the doubles point in seven of eight matches.
Freshman Cadence Brace won the SEC Freshman of the Week after earning three victories over ranked opponents at the ITA National Indoor Championship. Despite going unfinished, Brace battled with Michigan’s ace No. 7 Julia Fleigner, 4-6, 6-0. The freshman earned wins over UCLA’s Kimmi Hance, 6-0, 6-2, and her first-ranked victory in Oklahoma State’s No. 65 Anastasiya Komar in singles play, 6-3, 6-2.
Building a rapport with fellow freshman Kayla Cross on the top doubles spot, the duo took down UCLA’s top duo, No. 9 Kimmi Hance and Elise Wagle, 6-2, and Oklahoma State’s No. 86 Komar and Rose Marie Nijkamp.
Cross has made strides in the program since signing in early January. The Canadian native was awarded the campaign’s first SEC Freshman of the Week honors and boasts an overall 3-0 doubles record with Brace as well as a 3-1 singles mark, highlighted by a resounding 6-1, 7-5 win over UCLA’s No. 17 Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer.
Freshman Tilwith Di Girolami leads the way in singles on the No. 3 court with a 6-2 record highlighted by a win over Oklahoma State’s No. 40 Gracie Epps, 6-0, 6-2 at the ITA Indoor Championship.
Di Girolami has found success with senior Anita Sahdiieva on the No. 2 doubles court. The pair holds a club-best 6-1 doubles mark, including wins over UCLA’s No. 3 Kate Fakih and Olivia Center, 6-2, and No. 41 Epps and Marcela Lopez for Oklahoma State, 6-4. In singles, the senior holds a No. 115 ITA ranking and a 4-1 record.
Rounding out doubles play; senior Gaby Rivera and sophomore Kenna Erickson hold a 4-1 mark on the No. 3 spot. The pair clinched the doubles point against Florida in LSU’s eventual 4-0 win over the Gators to punch their ticket to the ITA National Indoor Championships. Erickson and Rivera also battled with No. 50 Lutkemeyer and Guichard, 5-5. In solo play, Rivera holds a 3-2 mark and Erickson possesses a 2-0 record.
Sophomore Kinaa Graham leads the way in ranked singles wins with a 2-1 record, highlighted by No. 60 Marcela Lopez of Oklahoma State, 6-3, 6-0. Furthermore, the sophomore posted the clinching singles point over Ahmani Guichard, 2-6, 7-5, 7-5, in LSU’s 4-2 victory over No. 6 UCLA.
In program history, LSU has a 41-5 record over Tulane, including a six-game winning streak dating back to 2018.
On the season, Tulane holds a 3-2 record, with 15 points in their last three matches, highlighted by a 7-0 win over Southern on Feb. 4. The Green Wave are led by freshman Campbell Ricci, who has a 3-2 singles record and 3-0 doubles mark with junior Leigh Van Zyl. The program is coached by Maria Brito, who is in her eighth season in New Orleans.
For more information on the LSU women’s tennis program, follow the Tigers on X @lsuwten, Instagram @LSUWTen, and Facebook.com/lsuwten.