WACO, TX. – LSU Women’s Tennis attempted to rally but fell short in the NCAA Quarterfinal to North Carolina, 4-2, on Thursday at the Hurd Tennis Center.
LSU concludes its season with a 24-8 record, while North Carolina improves to 27-4.
“Huge credit to North Carolina,” said Head Coach Taylor Fogleman. “I think they obviously are a great team, and extremely well coached. We tried to sneak out the doubles point. We had a lead at number three and battled back to bring number one to a good position, but they played just a few of the more important points a little better than we did. In singles, it was unfortunate that Cadence (Brace) opponent she played got injured and we hope it’s nothing terribly serious and we wis her well. Anita (Sahdiieva) played incredibly well against a very good player. Everyone else, I think it certainly wasn’t their best performance, but the effort and the resilience and the grit that everybody displayed on our team is exactly where I wanted it to be.”
When reflecting on the season, he added, “Bitterly disappointed with not getting the result that everybody wanted. But I think after a little bit of time and reflection, everybody in our program and outside of it, is going to appreciate how special and historic a year it was for us. So, I’m awfully proud of everyone, all the players, all the staff, all the administration that’s behind what we’re doing. I think we certainly are building something very special. And as we go on in time, this team will be known in many respects as the team that was the first to achieve a lot of accolades. This season has made me incredibly proud as a coach and, win or lose this group really battled like Tigers the entire season.”
Kinaa Graham and Anita Sahdiieva opened the NCAA Quarterfinal on the second court against No. 16 Susanna Maltby and Carson Tanguilig. The LSU pair dropped the first game before jumping ahead for a 2-1 advantage. However, Maltby and Tanguilig rallied to take a 5-2 lead. Graham and Sahdiieva attempted to rally but later fell 6-3.
Tilwith Di Girolami and Gaby Rivera were next for LSU as they faced Tatum Evans and Thea Rabman on Court No. 3. Di Girolami and Rivera took a quick 3-0 lead in the lone set before Evans and Rabman held a 4-3 advantage. The players would trade games back and forth until a 5-5 tie, in which the North Carolina pair broke away to win the set 7-5, giving the Tar Heels the doubles point.
Despite the Tar Heels gaining the doubles point, No. 5 Cadence Brace and Kayla Cross competed on the top spot in a match with No. 2 Reese Brantmeier and Alanis Hamilton that finished simultaneously with the clinching doubles point. Despite trailing 5-2, the LSU pair would rally but fall in the tiebreaker set, 6-7(4).
No. 11 Brace opened singles play on the top spot against No. 3 Brantmeier. The freshman gained a 3-2 advantage before Brantmeier was forced to retire from the match due to injury, giving LSU a point to tie the match at 1-1.
After gaining a point on the board, Graham took on No. 43 Tanguilig on the fifth court. Graham would capture a game early but would drop the opening set 6-1. After opening the second set with a 1-1 tie, Tanguilig would jump ahead to eliminate Graham, 6-1, to give UNC a 2-1 lead.
Needing a response, Sahdiieva battled Hamilton on the fourth court. After trading the first two games, Sahdiieva surged ahead for a 5-2 first set advantage in which she closed the set out with a 6-3 win. The senior kept her momentum in the second set by taking the opening three games. Hamilton would steal a game, but the Ukrainian native would secure the 6-1 set result to tie the dual match at 2-2.
Looking to kickstart a rally, Di Girolami took on her doubles opponent, No. 63 Evans, on the third court. The freshman fell behind 4-0 in the opening set, and, despite capturing a game, dropped the set 6-1. Di Girolami attempted to rally in the second set by reducing Evans later lead to 4-2 but would drop the set 6-2 to give North Carolina a 3-2 lead.
With the season on the line, No. 104 Rivera challenged Claire Hill on the No. 6 spot. The first set was a back-and-forth affair until the court was knotted at a 3-3 tie, in which Hill broke away to later seal the set 6-4. Rivera attempted to keep the second set competitive by capturing two games until Hill took a 3-2 lead. Rivera would take another game but would drop the set 3-6 to clinch the victory for North Carolina.
For more information on the LSU Women’s Tennis program, follow the Tigers on X @lsuwten, Instagram @LSUWTen, and Facebook.com/lsuwten.
LSU vs. North Carolina
May 15, 2025
Hurd Tennis Center
No. 13 LSU 2, No. 5 North Carolina 4
Singles
1. #11 Cadence Brace (LSU) def. #3 Reese Brantmeier (NC), 3-2 (retirement)
2. #49 Kayla Cross (LSU) vs. #24 Thea Rabman (NC) 3-6, 4-5, DNF
3. Tilwith Di Girolami (LSU) fell to #63 Tatum Evans (NC) 1-6, 2-6
4. Anita Sahdiieva (LSU) def. Alanis Hamilton (NC) 6-3, 6-1
5. Kinaa Graham (LSU) fell to #43 Carson Tanguilig (NC) 1-6, 1-6
6. Gaby Rivera (LSU) fell to Claire Hill (NC) 4-6, 3-6
Doubles
1. #5 Cadence Brace and Kayla Cross (LSU) fell to #2 Reese Brantmeier and Alanis Hamilton (NC) 6-7 (4-7)
2. Kinaa Graham and Anita Sahdiieva (LSU) fell to #16 Susanna Maltby and Carson Tanguilig (NC) 3-6
3. Gaby Rivera and Tilwith Di Girolami (LSU) fell to Tatum Evans and Thea Rabman (NC) 5-7
Match Notes:
LSU 24-8; National ranking #13
North Carolina 27-4; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Singles (1,5,4,3,6) Doubles (2,3,1)