No. 6 LSU Travels to Face No. 16 Vanderbilt, Hosts Missouri

BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 6 LSU faces a road test in No. 16 Vanderbilt on Friday, March 28, at 2:00 p.m. CT at the Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center in Nashville. Two days later, the Tigers head back to Baton Rouge to host Missouri on Sunday, March 30, at 10:00 a.m. CT at the LSU Tennis Complex.

Last time out, the No. 6 Tigers competed in two ranked matchups in No. 13 Texas and No. 3 Texas A&M. Facing the Longhorns, LSU surrendered the doubles point, requiring a rally to come out on top. In singles play, the Tigers went 4-1, highlighted by freshman Kayla Cross posting a come-from-behind ranked victory over Eszter Meri, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, to solidify LSU’s 4-2 win. Next up, LSU battled with the reigning national champions, No. 3 Texas A&M, but could not secure a result, falling 6-1.

According to the ITA, the Tigers moved up three spots to No. 6, surpassing their previous program-best ranking of No. 8 on Feb. 20. The No. 8 ranking was the highest in-season mark in program history. Before that, LSU held the No. 9 spot, tying the previous program record achieved in 2016 and matched again in 2021.

The Bayou Bengals hold an overall record of 62-29 in singles, and 34-11 in doubles, highlighted by 13 ranked singles wins, and 10 ranked doubles victories. LSU has secured the doubles point in 16 of its 20 matches this season.

Three-time SEC Freshman of the Week Cadence Brace continues contributing for the Tigers, holding seven wins in the top spot, including four ranked victories. Brace earned her first SEC Freshman of the Week honor on February 12 following her ITA National Indoor Championships performance. She received her second award on March 5 after securing wins against Kentucky on Feb. 28 and Tennessee on March 2. Most recently, she earned her third honor on March 16 after posting a 4-1 performance over Georgia on March 14, South Carolina, and Jackson State on March 16. The Canadian native holds an updated ITA ranking of No. 42 in singles.

Teaming up with fellow freshman Cross in doubles, the freshmen have owned the top doubles spot, posting a 9-1 record with a 7-0 mark over ranked pairs, with their most recent ranked win coming against Texas’s top duo, Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo and Ashton Bowers, 6-4. The LSU pair are currently riding a three-match winning streak. According to the ITA, Brace and Cross boast a No. 7 ranking.

Cross owns the second-highest ITA singles ranking on the team at No. 50. She earned her second SEC Freshman of the Week honor after her 3-1 overall record against Alabama on March 7 and Mississippi State on March 9. Cross earned the season’s first SEC Freshman of the Week award after LSU toppled San Diego 5-2 on Jan. 17 and downing UC Santa Barbara 6-1 on Jan. 18. In singles play, The Canadian owns an 8-2 mark on the No. 2 spot while also earning a victory on the top court against Ole Miss on Feb. 23.

Freshman Tilwith Di Girolami, ranked No. 102, leads the team with 13 singles wins, including nine victories on the third court. She also picked up key wins at the No. 1 spot against UL-Lafayette on Jan. 31 and court No. 2 against Ole Miss on Feb. 23.​The Belgian standout has secured two ranked wins this season, most notably defeating Tennessee’s Leyla Britez Risso, 6-2, 6-2. The freshman clinched the 4-2 dual match over Alabama in a come-from-behind effort over Klara Milicevic, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3.

Di Girolami has succeeded with senior Anita Sahdiieva on the No. 2 doubles courts, where the duo holds a No. 29 ranking. The pair carries a team-best 12-5 record, highlighted by a resounding 7-6 (12-10) tiebreaker victory over Tennessee’s Catherine Aulia and Britez Risso to clinch the doubles point in LSU’s eventual 4-0 win over the Volunteers. The duo’s most recent victory came over Georgia’s ranked pair of Guillermina Grant and Anastassia Lopata in a 6-0 sweep.

Sahdiieva has excelled in singles, holding an 11-3 record on the season, and is on a four-match winning streak. The senior accounted for LSU’s lone point against Texas A&M after earning a ranked victory over No. 80 Daria Smetannikov, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Most notably, Sahdiieva secured a clutch victory over South Carolina’s Bella Larsson, 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, leveling the dual match at 3-3 and setting the stage for LSU’s eventual 4-3 comeback win.

Rounding out doubles play, senior Gaby Rivera and sophomore Kenna Erickson have six wins at the third doubles spot, along with two additional wins on the No. 2 court against Tulane on Feb. 13 and over Southern on March 2. Rivera also holds a 5-4 record in singles play. Meanwhile, Erickson displays a 10-3 overall record with wins on the No. 3, 5, and 6 courts. The Texas native registered a 6-0, 6-4 result over Texas’s Salma Drugdova with her most recent win.

Sophomore Kinaa Graham carries three ranked victories on the season, highlighted by taking down Marcela Lopez of Oklahoma State, 6-3, 6-0. Furthermore, after losing the doubles point to the Gamecocks, Graham jump-started LSU’s rally as the first singles match to finish, defeating a ranked opponent in Misa Malkin, 6-2, 6-4. The Austin native holds five wins on the campaign.

LSU has recorded 17 victories over Vanderbilt in program history and owns a 13-0 mark against Missouri.

Vanderbilt has a 13-4 record on the season, with a 6-3 margin in SEC play. The Commodores are led in singles by No. 11 Celia-Belle Mohr, No. 44 Bridget Stammel, and No. 56 Valeria Ray. On the doubles courts, No. 14 Mohr and Sophia Webster lead the way with a 16-5 record. Vanderbilt is coached by Aleke Tsoubanos, who is in her fifth season at the helm.

Missouri holds an 11-8 overall record, including two wins in SEC play, the most recent being a 4-3 victory over Florida. The Tigers are led by head coach Bianca Turati, who is now in her second season.

For more information on the LSU women’s tennis program, follow the Tigers on X @lsuwten, Instagram @LSUWTen, and Facebook.com/lsuwten.