No. 5 LSU Opens ITA National Indoor Team Championships Against No. 14 Tennessee
BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 5 LSU women’s tennis team is set to face off with No. 14 Tennessee to open the ITA National Indoor Team Championships on Friday, Feb. 6, at 9:00 a.m. CT in Evanston, Ill., at the Combe Tennis Center.
The Tigers earned the No. 3 seed in the tournament and will face No. 6-seeded Tennessee.
LSU drew in the Northwestern side of the bracket, which includes No. 4 Auburn and No. 8 Oklahoma State, No. 9 NC State, and, depending on the Tigers result, facing off with No. 1 Georgia or No. 15 Virginia in the second round.
Last time out, the Tigers handled in-state opponent Tulane, 6-1, on Feb. 2. Freshman Carolina Kuhl and junior Kenna Erickson collected singles and doubles victories in the contest, with Erickson clinching the doubles point in a 6-2 result with graduate student Florentine Dekkers.
The Tigers post a 21-1 singles record and a 10-2 doubles mark to open the season. LSU has secured the doubles point in four matches.
As a result of the Tigers’ success at the ITA Kickoff Weekend, freshman Carolina Kuhl was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Jan. 28. Kuhl has registered a 4-0 start in singles play, highlighted by the clinching victory over UCLA’s Ahmani Guichard, 6-2, 7-6(0). The freshman also collected her first collegiate doubles victory against Marshall with fellow freshman Addison Lanton.
The Tigers feature three ranked singles players in No. 83 Kayla Cross, No. 92 Kinaa Graham, and No. 122 Addison Lanton in the latest ITA rankings. Furthermore, the pairing of Alexia Marginean and Graham earned a No. 81 doubles ranking.
Cross picked up her first victory of the season against No. 18 UCLA in a 6-4, 6-3 result on the second court against Mayu Crossley. Graham owns a 2-0 singles mark on the season, and, most recently, clinched the 6-1 victory over Tulane. Lanton has had a strong start to her freshman campaign, with a 4-0 mark, tied with Kuhl for the most, behind victories on the first, third, fifth, and sixth courts.
Newcomer Ella McDonald checks in with a 3-0 singles record with a ranked victory against UCLA and a 2-0 doubles mark on the season with junior Kenna Erickson. Likewise, Erickson has collected two singles victories on the third and fifth courts this season.
All-American sophomore duo Cadence Brace and Cross picked up their first win of the season in a 6-2 result on the top spot against San Diego.
Graduate Student Florentine Dekkers returned to the lineup after suffering a season-ending injury last season. Dekkers has earned a 2-1 start in singles play after collecting a victory on the No. 2 and No. 6 courts. In doubles play, she teamed with freshman Ioana Sava to clinch the doubles point against the Northwestern State pairing of Martina Acebedo and Grigoriadou, 6-3. As a result, Sava claimed her first collegiate doubles victory.
No. 14 Tennessee opens its season with a 2-0 mark. The Vols feature two ranked singles players in No. 32 Leyla Britez Risso and No. 87 Catherine Aulia. Tennessee also has three ranked doubles pairings in No. 17 Aulia and Britez Risso, No. 31 Francesca Mattioli and Maeve Thornton, and No. 57 Vanesa Suarez and Saray Yli-Piipari. Tennessee is led by head coach Alison Ojeda, who enters her 10th season with the program.
LSU holds 20 all-time wins against Tennessee after posting a 4-0 result against the Volunteers last season.
For more information on the LSU women’s tennis program, follow the Tigers on X @lsuwten, Instagram @LSUWTen, and Facebook.com/lsuwten.