COLUMBUS, Oh. – Senior Gaby Rivera earned a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 come-from-behind victory to lift No. 13 LSU Women’s Tennis past No. 4 Ohio State, 4-2, in the NCAA Super Regional on Friday at the Auer Tennis Complex.
The Tigers advance to the NCAA Team Championship for the first time in program history. LSU improves to 24-7 on the season, matching the program’s all-time best record set by the 1978 team. Ohio State concludes its season with a 23-4 record.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our ladies for their performance today,” said Head Coach Taylor Fogleman. “We lost difficult doubles point, and at the same time, Kenna (Erickson) suffered an injury, which was a lot to process and deal with for everyone. But after that, the girls showed a lot of grit and resilience in a challenging environment to play. Ohio State’s a great team, and they had a lot of support from their fan base at the match. Despite the pressure, our ladies stuck with it and pulled out the result. I believe we could have made life a tiny bit easier on ourselves in the match, but in this tournament stage, it will never be that way. But I was very happy with our resilience more than anything.”
When reflecting on the deciding result and the next steps for the team, he added, “For Gaby (Rivera) to come back the way she did, after everything that she is still dealing with, was massive for the team, and I am incredibly proud. We will celebrate this win and look forward to our next match against North Carolina for the NCAA Team Championship.”
THE TIGERS HAVE DONE IT
✅ No. 104 Rivera def. No. 112 Spencer, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
LSU 4, OSU 2 pic.twitter.com/KcDau5A1tv
— LSU Women’s Tennis (@LSUwten) May 10, 2025
Tilwith Di Girolami and Kenna Erickson started doubles play on the No. 3 court against Shelly Bereznyak and Luciana Perry. Di Girolami and Erickson took a 1-0 lead in the lone set before Perry and Bereznyak took six games to down the LSU pair 6-1.
Looking to get on the board, No. 5 Cadence Brace and Kayla Cross took on Alessia Cau and Teah Chavez on the top spot. Despite trailing 1-0, Brace and Cross surged for a 4-1 advantage. Cau and Chavez would rally to tie the set at 4-4, but the LSU freshmen pair captured the final two games to earn a 6-4 set win.
In a position to clinch the doubles point, Kinaa Graham and Anita Sahdiieva battled Sydni Ratliff and Audrey Spencer on the second court. The LSU duo took a quick 2-0 lead before Ratliff and Spencer took their first lead at 3-2. After tying the set, Graham and Sahdiieva found themselves in a back-and-forth affair until the set was knotted at 6-6, in which Ratliff and Spencer pulled ahead in the tiebreaker for a 7-6(3) win to give Ohio State the doubles point.
Di Girolami opened solo play for the Tigers on the No. 3 spot against No. 75 Ratliff. Di Girolami fell behind at 2-4, until the freshman took four straight games to win the set 6-4. After dropping the first game in the next set, the Belgian native caught fire, taking six straight games to win the set 6-1 to tie the dual match at 1-1. Di Girolami earned her 19th win of the season and extended her winning streak to four matches.
Sahdiieva was next on the No. 4 court against No. 116 Nao Nishino. The senior dropped the first game but would take a 2-1 lead in the first set. Nishino would take a 3-2 lead until Sahdiieva secured the final four games to win the set 6-3. Sahdiieva trailed 2-1 in the second set before rattling off three straight games for a 4-2 lead. Nishino cut the deficit to 4-3, and later to 5-4, but Sahdiieva earned a 6-4 win to give LSU a 2-1 lead. Sahdiieva now holds 15 wins this season.
After gaining the lead, Graham took on Shelly Bereznyak on the fifth court. Graham took a 3-0 lead in the first set before Bereznyak rallied to tie the set. Afterward, the court saw two lead changes and three ties to force a seven-point tiebreaker, in which Bereznyak downed Graham 7-6(2). Graham led 2-1 in the following set before Bereznyak tied it at 2-2 and later pull ahead. Graham trailed 5-4 but couldn’t extend the set, falling 6-4 as Ohio State tied the match at 2-2.
With the contest tied, No. 11 Brace matched up with her doubles opponent, No. 22 Chavez, on the top spot. The freshman took a 2-0 lead in the opening set before Chavez stole a game. Brace would extend her lead to 3-1 before Chavez tied the set. Afterward, the freshman denied Chavez’s rally to earn a 6-3 set win. Brace tied the set four times in a competitive second set before taking her first lead at 6-5. Chavez would tie at 6-6, forcing a seven-point tiebreaker, in which the Canadian native secured the 7-6(6) win to elevate LSU to a 3-2 advantage. The result marks Brace’s 10th-ranked win on the season.
Fighting to clinch the victory, No. 104 Rivera battled with No. 112 Spencer on the sixth court. Rivera fell behind 3-1 in the opening set but battled back to cut the deficit to 4-3 before Spencer closed it out for a 6-4 win. The fifth-year senior responded well in the following set by holding a 2-0 lead and kept her composure under Spencer’s pressure at 3-2 and 5-4, in which Rivera earned the 6-4 victory. Despite trailing 2-3 in the deciding set, the Guatemala City native captured the final four games to post a 6-3 set win to clinch the victory for the Tigers.
For more information on the LSU Women’s Tennis program, follow the Tigers on X @lsuwten, Instagram @LSUWTen, and Facebook.com/lsuwten.
LSU vs. Ohio State
May 9, 2025
Auer Tennis Complex
No. 13 LSU 4, No. 4 Ohio State 2
Singles
1. #11 Cadence Brace (LSU) def. #22 Teah Chavez (OSU) 6-3, 7-6 (8-6)
2. #49 Kayla Cross (LSU) vs. #9 Luciana Perry (OSU) 7-6(7-5), 5-7, 2-5, DNF
3. Tilwith Di Girolami (LSU) def. #75 Sydni Ratliff (OSU) 6-4, 6-1
4. Anita Sahdiieva (LSU) def. #116 Nao Nishino (OSU) 6-3, 6-4
5. Kinaa Graham (LSU) fell to Shelly Bereznyak (OSU) 6-7(2-7), 4-6
6. #104 Gaby Rivera (LSU) def. #112 Audrey Spencer (OSU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
1. #5 Cadence Brace/Kayla Cross (LSU) def. Teah Chavez/Alessia Cau (OSU) 6-4
2. Kinaa Graham/Anita Sahdiieva (LSU) fell to Audrey Spencer/Sydni Ratliff (OSU) 6-7(3-7)
3. Tilwith Di Girolami/Kenna Erickson (LSU) fell to Luciana Perry/Shelly Bereznyak (OSU) 1-6
Match Notes:
LSU 24-7; National ranking #13
Ohio State 23-4; National ranking #4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (3,4,5,1,6)