BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Tx. – No. 9 LSU could not mount a comeback over the reigning national champions, falling to No. 3 Texas A&M, 6-1, on Sunday at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
LSU falls to 17-3 overall and 7-2 in the SEC, while Texas A&M moves to 17-2 and 8-1 in league play.
“We credit Texas A&M for their performance today,” said Head Coach Taylor Fogleman. “They have achieved so much in the last few years, and Head Coach Mark Weaver has done an excellent job with the program here. We started slowly with doubles, which became difficult to overcome. And then in the singles, it was a combination of Texas A&M playing well and us not getting off to the start we needed to. We certainly put ourselves behind the eight ball. However, I was proud that our girls all fought to the end despite being a difficult mountain to climb. Certainly, we will learn and improve from this result. Now we’ll head home to rest and return to practice to prepare for another road trip to Vanderbilt on Friday.”
Kenna Erickson and Gaby Rivera opened the dual match on the No. 3 court against Nicole Khirin and Lexington Reed. After a brief 1-1 tie, the Texas A&M pair jumped ahead for a 5-1 advantage. Erickson and Rivera would rally to make it 5-3 but ultimately fell short at 6-3.
No. 29 Tilwith Di Girolami and Anita Sahdiieva took on Mia Kupres and Daria Smetannikov on the second court. The LSU pair tied the set at 1-1 but would fall behind 5-1. Di Girolami and Sahdiieva attempted to mount a comeback by taking the next two games. Still, Kupres and Smetannikov closed out the set with a 6-3 result, awarding Texas A&M the doubles point.
Kinaa Graham started singles play for the Tigers on the No. 4 spot against No. 40 Lucciana Perez. The sophomore leveled the opener at 1-1 but would fall behind and drop the set 6-1. Afterward, Graham held a 3-0 lead to start the second set before Perez took the next five games to hold a 5-3 advantage. Graham took a game, but Perez ultimately secured the set with a 6-4 victory, extending Texas A&M’s lead to 2-0.
On the second court, No. 50 Kayla Cross faced off against No. 17 Khirin. Cross trailed 0-1 in the first set, tied it up at 1-1, then fell behind before taking a 3-2 lead. Khirin took a 4-3 lead before Cross regained the advantage at 5-4. However, the freshman ultimately lost the set 7-5. Cross fell behind 4-0 in the following set and could not rally despite taking a game and lost the set 6-1, moving Texas A&M’s advantage to 3-0.
No. 102 Di Girolami took on her doubles opponent, No. 61 Kupres on the third spot. Di Girolami fell behind 5-0 before attempting a rally, dropping the set 6-2. The freshman had a productive second set, gaining a 3-1 advantage. Kupres would take a game, but the Belgian native secured a 6-2 result. Di Girolami fell behind 4-1 in the deciding set. She cut the deficit to 4-2 but couldn’t complete the comeback, losing the set 6-3, clinching the 4-0 victory for Texas A&M.
With the rest of the matches playing out, No. 42 Cadence Brace faced a tough test with No. 2 Mary Stoiana in the top spot. The freshman gained a 1-0 lead but fell behind 3-1, later dropping the set 6-2. After trailing 3-1 in the second set, Brace took five straight games to earn a 6-3 set victory. The final set began with a 1-1 tie in which Stoiana gained a 3-1 advantage. Brace kept the set close but fell short 6-3.
On Court No. 6, Erickson faced her doubles foe Reed. Erickson held early leads at 1-0 and 2-1 before falling behind 4-2. She battled back to tie it at 4-4 but ultimately dropped the set 6-4. In the second set, the sophomore trailed 3-1. However, Erickson fought back to level the set at 4-4, and after trailing 4-5, she pushed ahead at 6-5. Reed forced a seven-point tiebreaker in which the LSU Texas native came out on top 7-6(2). However, in the final set, Erickson fell 6-0.
In the final match of the day, Sahdiieva took on her duos opponent, No. 80 Smetannikov, on Court No. 5. The senior took a quick 3-0, then 4-1 lead and held her advantage throughout the rest of the set, swatting a late rally by Smetannikov, winning 6-4. In the second set, Sahdiieva slipped to a 5-1 deficit. She fought back to close the gap at 5-4 before Smetannikov took the set 6-4. Sahdiieva trailed in the deciding third set before tying it at 2-2. After falling behind 3-2, the Ukrainian native rallied again to level it at 4-4 and closed out the set with a 6-4 win, awarding LSU a singles point to conclude the match.
LSU vs. Texas A&M
March 23, 2025
Mitchell Tennis Center
No. 9 LSU 1, No. 3 Texas A&M 6
Singles
1. #42 Cadence Brace (LSU) fell to #2 Mary Stoiana (TAMU) 2-6, 6-3, 3-6
2. #50 Kayla Cross (LSU) fell to #17 Nicole Khirin (TAMU) 5-7, 1-6
3. #102 Tilwith Di Girolami (LSU) fell to #61 Mia Kupres (TAMU) 2-6, 6-2, 3-6
4. Kinaa Graham (LSU) fell to #40 Lucciana Perez (TAMU) 1-6, 4-6
5. Anita Sahdiieva (LSU) def. #80 Daria Smetannikov (TAMU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
6.Kenna Erickson (LSU) fell to Lexington Reed (TAMU) 4-6, 7-6(7-2), 0-6
Doubles
1. #7 Cadence Brace/Kayla Cross (LSU) vs. #33 Mary Stoiana/Lucciana Perez (TAMU) 4-4, DNF
2. #29 Tilwith Di Girolami/Anita Sahdiieva (LSU) fell to Mia Kupres/Daria Smetannikov (TAMU) 3-6
3. Gaby Rivera/Kenna Erickson (LSU) fell to Nicole Khirin/Lexington Reed (TAMU) 3-6
Match Notes:
LSU 17-3; National ranking
#9 Texas A&M 17-2; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,2,3,1,6,5)
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