BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 13 LSU Women’s Tennis earned a bid to the NCAA Regional and will host Stephen F. Austin in the first round on Friday, May 2, at 3:00 p.m. CT at the LSU Tennis Complex.
The tournament appearance marks the Tiger’s 26th NCAA Regional bid and ninth consecutive appearance for the club. The Bayou Bengals are set to host their third NCAA Regional in program history (1998, 2021).
LSU (21-7) entered the tournament as the No. 13 seed and was picked to host Memphis, Stephen F. Austin, and Southern California.
Last time out, LSU made it to the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament after being awarded a first-round bye as the No. 6 seed. The Tigers opened play with a 4-0 sweep in the second round over Kentucky, followed by a 4-1 defeat to Oklahoma.
The Bayou Bengals hold an overall record of 77-45 in singles and 46-19 in doubles, highlighted by 17 ranked singles wins and 12 ranked doubles victories. LSU has secured the doubles point in 21 of its 28 matches this season.
Cadence Brace continues to contribute in her stellar freshman campaign after being named the SEC Freshman of the Year and earning first-team All-SEC and All-Freshman team honors. The Canadian native holds 11 wins in the top spot, including eight ranked victories. The Canadian native holds an updated ITA ranking of No. 11 in singles.
Teaming up with fellow freshman Kayla Cross in doubles as one of the top duos in the country with a No. 5 ITA ranking, the freshmen have owned the top doubles spot for the Tigers, posting a 10-3 record with an 7-2 mark over ranked pairs. The Canadian duo’s most recent ranked win came on Apr. 6 against Oklahoma’s then-No. 84 Julia Garcia Ruiz and Alina Shcherbinina, 6-3, clinching the doubles point in the match.
Cross owns the second-highest ITA singles ranking on the team at No. 49 and was named to the All-SEC second team and All-Freshman team with Brace. 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, highlighted by a 6-1, 7-5 result over UCLA’s then-No. 17 A.C. Lutkemeyer in LSU’s 4-2 win over the Bruins at the ITA National Indoor Championships from Feb. 7-9.
Freshman Tilwith Di Girolami leads the team with 16 singles wins, including 11 victories on the third court. The Belgian standout has secured two ranked wins this season, most notably on March 2, defeating Tennessee’s then-No. 69 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. 39 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 then-No. 70 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 then-No. 14 Celia-Belle Mohr and Sophia Webster, 6-3. The pair hold an ITA ranking of No. 59 and own a 4-1 record on the season. Sahdiieva has also excelled in singles, owning a 13-5 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 then-No. 80 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 4-3 record, with their most recent win coming against Oklahoma’s Ava Catanzarite and Gloriana Nahum, 6-1. Rivera also holds a 7-4 record in singles play with an ITA ranking of No. 104. Meanwhile, Erickson displays an 11-6 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 then-No. 69 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 then-No. 93 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 will compete against Stephen F. Austin for the first time in program history. The Lumberjacks enter the NCAA Regional with a 17-6 overall record and travel to Baton Rouge after winning their second Southland conference championship after downing Southeastern Louisiana 4-0, Northwestern State 4-3, and Texas A&M – Corpus Christi 4-0.
For more information on the LSU women’s tennis program, follow the Tigers on X @lsuwten, Instagram @LSUWTen, and Facebook.com/lsuwten.