No. 11 LSU Concludes Regular Season Against Florida, No. 8 Auburn

BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 11 LSU (19-5, 9-4 SEC) travels for two SEC contests to conclude the regular season, firstly competing against Florida on Friday, Apr. 11, at 4:00 p.m. CT. Two days later, LSU travels to No. 8 Auburn for a match at noon CT.

Last time out, LSU hosted two SEC contests at the LSU Tennis Complex, taking down Arkansas in a 4-0 sweep on Apr. 4, followed by a hard-fought 4-1 defeat to Oklahoma on Apr. 6.

The Bayou Bengals hold an overall record of 70-37 in singles and 41-13 in doubles, highlighted by 14 ranked singles wins and 11 ranked doubles victories. LSU has secured the doubles point in 19 of its 24 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. 21 in singles.

Teaming up with fellow freshman Cross in doubles as one of the top duos in the country, the freshmen have owned the top doubles spot, posting a 10-1 record with an 8-0 mark over ranked pairs. The Canadian duo’s most recent ranked win came against Oklahoma’s Julia Garcia Ruiz and Alina Shcherbinina, 6-3, clinching the doubles point in the match. The LSU pair are currently riding a four-match winning streak. According to the ITA, Brace and Cross boast a No. 4 ranking.

Cross owns the second-highest ITA singles ranking on the team at No. 52. 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 a 9-2 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 15 singles wins, including 10 victories on the third court. The Belgian standout has secured two ranked wins this season, most notably on March 2, defeating Tennessee’s Leyla Britez Risso, 6-2, 6-2. The freshman clinched the 4-2 dual match on March 7 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. 35 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 on March 14 over Georgia’s ranked duo 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. The pair hold a 2-0 record on the season. Sahdiieva has also excelled in singles, owning a 12-4 record on the season. The senior accounted for LSU’s lone point against Texas A&M on March 23 after earning a ranked victory over Daria Smetannikov, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Most notably, Sahdiieva secured a clutch victory on March 16 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 has also teamed with Di Girolami, holding a 3-1 record, with their most recent win coming against Oklahoma’s Ava Catanzarite and Gloriana Nahum, 6-1. Rivera also holds a 5-4 record in singles play. Meanwhile, Erickson displays an 11-5 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 six wins on the campaign, with her most recent result coming over Arkansas’s Anet Koskel, 6-2, 6-4, to clinch the match victory for LSU.

LSU holds three all-time wins against Florida, most recently taking down the Gators 4-1 on Jan. 26 to book their ITA National Indoor Championships ticket. The Tigers also carry a 30-17 series record against Auburn.

Florida holds an 8-11 overall record this season, with four wins in the conference. The Gators are led by head coach Per Nilsson, who is in his first year in Gainesville. Florida is represented in the rankings by No. 27 Rachel Gailis and No. 57 Alicia Dudeney. Furthermore, they hold two ranked doubles pairs in No. 11 Dudeney and Gailis and No. 32 Dudeney and Bente Spee.

Auburn, ranked No. 8, is 20-5 on the season with a 9-4 mark in the SEC. Jordan Szabo coaches the Tigers in his debut season. Auburn holds individual rankings of No. 5 DJ Bennett, No. 47 Angella Okutoyi, No. 59 Merna Refaat, and No. 92 Ava Hrastar. In doubles, the Tigers are represented by No. 20 Bennett and Hrastar, along with No. 50 Okutoyi and Refaat.

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