No. 5 LSU Opens Dual Season with Home Slate Against Northwestern State, San Diego
BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU Women’s Tennis team will open its home schedule this weekend at the LSU Tennis Complex, hosting Northwestern State and San Diego in a two-match opening homestand.
The Tigers will face the Northwestern State Demons on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 1:00 p.m. CT, before welcoming the San Diego Toreros on Monday, Jan. 19, at noon CT.
Following the official ITA preseason rankings, LSU boasts a program-best No. 5 ranking heading into the season. Last season, the Tigers rose as high as No. 6 in the dual season rankings.
LSU enters the weekend looking to build on the momentum of a program-best season a year ago, highlighted by a 24-8 overall record and the program’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight.
Head coach Taylor Fogleman enters his fourth season at the helm in Baton Rouge after leading LSU to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and a school-record 10 SEC regular-season victories last spring.
LSU returns a strong foundation led by sophomore standouts Cadence Brace and Kayla Cross, who both earned All-SEC and All-Freshman honors a season ago. Brace was named SEC Freshman of the Year and ITA National Rookie of the Year after climbing to a career-high ITA singles ranking of No. 8. Furthermore, Brace also earned a selection to the All-SEC first team, while Cross featured on the All-SEC second team. At the same time, the Canadian pairing rose as high as No. 3 nationally in doubles.
Brace and Cross were nationally recognized following the season, with the pair earning All-American doubles honors, while Brace also gained an All-American singles selection.
In addition to its returning core, LSU welcomes a highly touted freshman class poised to make an immediate impact in Baton Rouge. The group is headlined by German standout Carolina Kuhl, who has reached a career high WTA ranking of No. 391 in singles and No. 617 in doubles, to the Tigers’ lineup. The Tigers also feature their newest signing, British native Ella McDonald, a rising talent who has success on the professional tour, with career-high rankings of No. 352 in singles and No. 161 in doubles, according to the WTA.
LSU also features Illinois freshman Addison Lanton, Romanian newcomer Alexia Marginean, and fellow Romanian Ioana Sava, giving the Tigers a versatile and internationally diverse roster entering the spring. Lanton concluded the fall campaign ranked No. 78 in singles, while Marginean ranked No. 41 in doubles with junior Kinaa Graham, according to the ITA.
Likewise, junior returners Graham and Kenna Erickson provide more firepower to the Tigers’ lineup. Last season, Graham earned six singles victories behind three ranked results and captured six overall doubles victories with four different partners. Erickson posted 12 overall victories dating back to Fall 2024 and earned six singles victories in conference play in the dual season. The Austin native concluded the season ranked No. 74 in doubles play with Tiger alumni Anita Sahdiieva.
The Tigers finished last season with an 11-2 home record and secured the doubles point in 21 of their matches.
Northwestern State opens its season in Baton Rouge after 10 wins in 2025, making it to the second round of the Southland Conference Tournament. The Demons return five players from last season. Head Coach Marcos Morelli opens his third season with Northwestern State. The Tigers hold a 23-1 all-time record in the matchup and will face the Demons for the first time since 2020.
San Diego enters the weekend after an 11-win season last year and returns four players for the season. The Toreros won their first match of the season, 5-2, against UC San Diego on Jan. 14. Head coach Nadia Abdala enters her fourth season at the helm. LSU holds an all-time winning record of 5-1 and earned a 5-2 victory over the squad last season.
For more information on the LSU women’s tennis program, follow the Tigers on X @lsuwten, Instagram @LSUWTen, and Facebook.com/lsuwten.