No. 10 LSU Set for Final Regular Season Homestand Over Arkansas, No. 8 Oklahoma
BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 10 LSU (18-4, 8-3 SEC) competes at the LSU Tennis Complex for the final time in the regular season, hosting Arkansas on Friday, Apr. 4 at 5:00 p.m. CT, followed by a senior day matchup against No. 8 Oklahoma on Sunday, Apr. 6 at 11:00 a.m. CT.
Attendance at all LSU matches at the LSU Tennis Complex is free. Attendees will be required to comply with the university’s clear-bag policy.
Last time out, the Tigers battled but fell on the road to No. 16 Vanderbilt, 5-2. Two days later, LSU returned to winning ways by sweeping Missouri at the LSU Tennis Complex, 4-0.
The Bayou Bengals hold an overall record of 67-33 in singles and 37-13 in doubles, highlighted by 14 ranked singles wins and 11 ranked doubles victories. LSU has secured the doubles point in 17 of its 22 matches this season.
Three-time SEC Freshman of the Week Cadence Brace continues contributing for the Tigers, holding eight wins in the top spot, including five 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. 24 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. 47. 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 downed 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. The freshman holds three ranked victories on the campaign.
Freshman Tilwith Di Girolami leads the team with 14 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. 36 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.
Beyond Di Girolami, Sahdiieva has teamed with sophomore Kenna Erickson to win their first match of the season against Vanderbilt on March 28, taking down the ranked pair of Celia-Belle Mohr and Sophia Webster, 6-3, earning the pair an ITA ranking of No. 70. Sahdiieva has also excelled in singles, holding a 12-3 record on the season, and is on a team-leading five-match winning streak. The senior accounted for LSU’s lone point against Texas A&M after earning a ranked victory over 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 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 and jumped into the ITA rankings at No. 118. Meanwhile, Erickson displays an 11-4 overall record with wins on the No. 3, 5, and 6 courts. The Texas native registered a 6-2, 6-1 result over Missouri’s Sarah Hartel with her most recent result to clinch the match victory for LSU.
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 leads the all-time series against Arkansas at 27-20, holding a four-match winning streak. The Tigers are unbeaten against Oklahoma, scoring a 3-0 mark, with the last meeting between the teams occurring in 1987.
Arkansas carries a 4-14 overall record with one win in the conference. The Razorbacks hold one ranked singles player in No. 66, Carolina Gomez Alongso, and one ranked duo in No. 44 Alongso and Olga Bienzobas. Head Coach Tucker Clary is at the helm in his second season with the program.
Oklahoma, ranked No. 8, owns a 14-5 overall record with a 7-4 mark in league play. Audra Cohen coaches the Sooners in her ninth season in Norman. Oklahoma features four ranked singles players: No. 19 Julia Garcia Ruiz, No. 31 Alina Shcherbinina, No. 51 Emma Staker, and No. 121 Salakthip Ounmuang. In doubles, the Sooners display four ranked pairs: No. 58 Cara Mester and Shcherbinina, No. 81 Chloe Noel and Ruiz, No. 84 Ruiz and Shcherbinina, and No. 87 Roisin Gilheany and Ounmuang.
For more information on the LSU women’s tennis program, follow the Tigers on X @lsuwten, Instagram @LSUWTen, and Facebook.com/lsuwten.