BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 5 LSU women’s tennis team is set to host its first-ever ITA Kickoff Weekend on Saturday, Jan. 24, and Sunday, Jan. 25, at the LSU Tennis Complex.
No. 18 UCLA and No. 24 UCF will kick off ITA Kickoff Weekend with a match on Jan. 24 at 11:00 a.m. CT. Afterwards, LSU will face Marshall on Jan. 24 at 2:00 p.m. CT. Following the result, the Tigers will battle with UCLA or UCF on Sunday, Jan. 25.
Due to inclement weather, Sunday’s matchups will begin with the third- and fourth-place match at 9:00 a.m. CT, followed by the championship bout at noon CT.
Attendance at all LSU matches at the LSU Tennis Complex is free. Attendees will be required to comply with the university’s clear-bag policy.
Last time out, the Tigers opened the dual season with consecutive victories over Northwestern State, 7-0, and San Diego, 4-0. Freshman Addison Lanton led the charge with two straight-set singles results, as well as two doubles victories, only surrendering seven games across four total matches. The freshman also earned the clinching doubles point against San Diego with junior Kinaa Graham. Lanton is ranked No. 78 in singles play to open the campaign.
Following the weekend sweep, it marks the first time since 2023 that LSU has posted consecutive shutouts to open the season.
All-American sophomore doubles pairing Cadence Brace and Kayla Cross made their season debut against San Diego, in which the pair posted a convincing 6-2 result over Vilma Krebs-Hyllested and Kristina Nordikyan.
Beyond Lanton, newcomers Alexia Marginean, Ella McDonald, and Carolina Kuhl all earned their first collegiate singles victories in the opening weekend, highlighted by Kuhl clinching the 4-0 match win against San Diego’s Krebs-Hyllested, 6-0, 6-3.
Graduate Student Florentine Dekkers returned to the lineup after suffering a season-ending injury last season. Dekkers returned in stride with a 6-1, 6-1 victory in the second spot against Northwestern State’s Athina Grigoriadou. In doubles play, she teamed with freshman Ioana Sava to clinch the doubles point against the Demon pairing of Martina Acebedo and Grigoriadou, 6-3. As a result, Sava claimed her first collegiate doubles victory.
Juniors Kenna Erickson and Graham earned singles victories against Northwestern State on the No. 3 and No. 4 courts, respectively. Furthermore, Erickson teamed with Marginean to post a 6-2 result over Northwestern’s Pilka Doberlet and Maria Farina.
Marshall holds a 2-0 record on the season after downing EKU, 4-1, and Bellarmine, 5-2. The program is led by John Mercer, entering his 38th season. LSU owns a 1-0 mark against Marshall and will face off for the first time since 2007.
No. 24 UCF opened its season with a 4-1 result against South Florida. The Knights own one ranked doubles pairing in No. 50 Olivia Bergler and Lauren Seye. UCF is led by Bryan Koniecko, entering his 10th season with the program. The Tigers look to earn their first program victory against the Knights, pending the matchup.
No. 18 UCLA heads to Baton Rouge after winning its first match of the season against San Diego State, 5-2. The Bruins hold one ranked player in singles in No. 75 Kate Fakih. UCLA is led by head coach Stella Sampras Webster, entering her 30th season with the program. LSU earned its first win in program history over the Bruins last season at the ITA National Indoor Championships, 4-2.
For more information on the LSU women’s tennis program, follow the Tigers on X @lsuwten, Instagram @LSUWTen, and Facebook.com/lsuwten.