BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 5 LSU women’s tennis team opened its season with a 7-0 result over Northwestern State on Saturday afternoon at the LSU Tennis Complex.
LSU opens its season with a 1-0 mark while Northwestern State drops to 0-1. Following the result, LSU has now won four consecutive season openers.
“Really good start to our spring campaign,” said head coach Taylor Fogleman. “We had three ladies play their first collegiate match, which always comes with nerves and anticipation. But after they settled down after a few games in doubles, they acquitted themselves very well. We appreciated Northwestern State for coming down and playing us to start our season. I liked a lot of what I saw from our girls, but there are always things that can be improved on, which we certainly will need to do come Monday when we tangle with San Diego, a very talented team that is well coached.”
Kinaa Graham and Addison Lanton opened doubles play on the top spot against Honolka Umeda and Lolita Hukasian. The LSU pair took five straight games to open the lone set. The Demon duo would steal a game, but Graham and Lanton closed the set out with a 6-1 result.
Following the first match, looking to clinch the doubles point, Florentine Dekkers and Ioana Sava take on Athina Grigoriaou and Martina Acebedo on the third court. In a back-and-forth affair that featured three ties, Dekkers and Sava found their form following a 3-3 set tie, capturing the final three games to earn a 6-3 set win to clinch the doubles point for LSU.
After clinching the doubles point, the last match continued, with Kenna Erickson and Alexia Marginean challenging Pika Doberlet and Maria Farina on Court No. 2. Erickson and Marginean found themselves in a 1-1 and 2-2 stalemate to open the set before the Tiger duo captured the final four games to post a 6-2 set win.
Before singles play, due to a forfeit on the sixth court, LSU was awarded a match point and took a 2-0 lead against the Demons.
Marginean began singles play on the fifth spot against Hukasian. The freshman left no doubt in the opening set, only dropping one game en route to a 6-1 first-set win. The second set followed a similar pattern, with Hukasian stealing a game before Marginean closed the second set with another 6-1 result, lifting the Tigers to a 3-0 lead.
In her first singles match back from injury, Dekkers returned to the lineup for the first time since 2024 to take on her doubles foe Grigoriadou on Court No. 2. The Graduate Student jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the opening set. Grigoriadou would take a game before Dekkers closed the set with a 6-1 result. In the second set, the Holland native dropped only one game en route to a 6-1 set win, clinching the 4-0 match for the Tigers.
With the rest of the matches playing out, Erickson took on Acebedo on Court 3. The opening set saw the athletes trading games before Erickson took a 3-2 lead. Afterward, she captured the final three games to earn a 6-2 set win. Erickson took an early 4-0 lead in the second set and never looked back to earn a 6-0 set sweep to give LSU a 5-0 lead.
No. 78 Lanton was given the top spot honors to take on Farina. After a 1-1 tie, Lanton captured the final five games to post a 6-1 first-set result. In the second set, the freshman was dominant, earning a 6-0 set win to give LSU a 6-0 match advantage.
In the final match of the day, No. 81 Graham faced Doberlet on the fourth spot. The LSU junior jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead in the opening set. However, Doberlet would continue to fight and battled the set back to a 5-5 tie. Afterward, Graham captured the final two games to earn a 7-5 set win. In the second set, Graham took a 1-0 lead, then a 2-1 lead, before Doberlet was forced to retire from the match, gifting LSU its final point for a 7-0 match win.
Up Next
LSU resumes play at home against San Diego on Monday, Jan. 19, at noon CT at the LSU Tennis Complex.
For more information on the LSU women’s tennis program, follow the Tigers on X @lsuwten, Instagram @LSUWTen, and Facebook.com/lsuwten.
LSU vs. Northwestern State
Jan. 17, 2026
LSU Tennis Complex
#5 LSU 7, Northwestern State 0
Singles competition
1. #78 Addison Lanton (LSU) def. Maria Farina (NWS) 6-1, 6-0
2. Florentine Dekkers (LSU) def. Athina Grigoriadou (NWS) 6-1, 6-1
3. Kenna Erickson (LSU) def. Martina Acebedo (NWS) 6-2, 6-0
4. #81 Kinaa Graham (LSU) def. Pika Doberlet (NWS) 7-5, 2-1, retired
5. Alexia Marginean (LSU) def. Lolita Hukasian (NWS) 6-1, 6-1
6. Ioana Sava (LSU) def. No player (NWS), by forfeit
Doubles competition
1. Kinaa Graham/Addison Lanton (LSU) def. Lolita Hukasian/Honoka Umeda (NWS) 6-1
2. Kenna Erickson/Alexia Marginean (LSU) def. Pika Doberlet/Maria Farina (NWS) 6-2
3. Florentine Dekkers/Ioana Sava (LSU) def. Martina Acebedo/Athina Grigoriadou (NWS) 6-3
Match Notes:
Northwestern State 0-1
LSU 1-0; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,5,2,3,1,4)
Official: Richie Weaver