No. 4 LSU Hosts SEC Home Opener Against No. 23 Florida, No. 5 Auburn

BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 4 LSU women’s tennis team returns home for the first time in a month to host two SEC matchups in No. 23 Florida on Thursday, Mar. 5, at 5:00 p.m. CT and No. 5 Auburn on Saturday, Mar. 7, at noon CT at the LSU Tennis Complex.

According to the latest official ITA rankings (Mar. 3), LSU ranks No. 4 in the dual season team rankings. The ranking ties the Tigers for program-best, reached earlier this season on Feb. 19.

Last time out, the Tigers hit the road and earned a 4-1 result against No. 17 South Carolina while suffering a setback against No. 1 Georgia, 4-0.

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.

LSU holds an 8-3 record on the season and has clinched the doubles point in seven of its matches. The Tigers own a 32-14 singles mark and a 17-11 doubles record.

As a result of the Tigers’ success at the ITA Kickoff Weekend, freshman Carolina Kuhl was named the SEC Freshman of the Week. Kuhl has registered a 7-3 start in singles play, highlighted by the clinching victory over UCLA’s Ahmani Guichard, 6-2, 7-6(0). Kuhl earned her first-ranked victory on Feb. 6 against Tennessee’s then-No. 87 Catherine Aulia, 6-4, 6-3. The freshman also holds four doubles victories with two different partners.

The Tigers feature four ranked singles players in No. 52 Cadence Brace, No. 65 Kayla Cross, No. 118 Kenna Erickson, and No. 120 Kinaa Graham in the latest ITA rankings.

Furthermore, LSU has two ranked doubles pairings: No. 9 Ella McDonald and Cross and No. 65 McDonald and Erickson.

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. The sophomore also earned her first-ranked victory against NC State’s then-No. 36 Mia Slama, 6-4, 7-6(10). 

Brace holds a 3-0 mark on the top spot, most recently highlighted by the clinching victory over South Carolina’s then-No. 63 Kaitlyn Carnicella, 7-5, 6-3.

McDonald checks in with a 3-1 singles mark with a ranked victory against UCLA and three doubles wins on the season with Erickson. Likewise, Erickson has collected two singles victories on the third and fifth courts this season.

Against NC State, McDonald and Cross struck up a partnership to take down NC State’s then-No. 2 Broadfoot/Victoria Osuigwe, 7-6(6). Since then, the duo has a 3-0 record this season, all against ranked opponents.

Lanton has had a strong start to her freshman campaign with a team-leading 8-1 mark behind victories on the first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth courts. 

Florida holds a 7-2 record on the season, riding a three-match winning streak. The Gators hold a 2-1 conference record. Florida features six times in the ITA rankings: No. 26 Gabia Paskauskas, No. 72 Nikola Daubnerova, No. 76 Valery Gynina, No. 84 Emily Seibold, No. 88 Lucie Pawlak, and No. 103 India Houghton. Daubnerova and Xinyi Nong represent the lone ranked doubles pairing at No. 19. Head coach Per Nilsson leads the program in his second season.

Auburn posts a 19-1 record on the season while riding a six-match winning streak, highlighted by a 3-0 start in conference play. Auburn holds six individual rankings in No. 27 Ashton Bowers, No. 31 Ava Esposito, No. 33 DJ Bennett, No. 50 Ekaterina Khairutdinova, No. 91 Angella Okutoyi, and No. 119 Alice Battesti. Furthermore, No. 14 Bennett and Esposito, No. 39 Okutoyi and Merna Refaat, No. 79 Bennett and Bowers, and No. 83 Bowers and Khairutdinova make up the ranked duos. Head coach Jordan Szabo enters his second season with the program.

For more information on the LSU women’s tennis program, follow the Tigers on X @lsuwten, Instagram @LSUWTen, and Facebook.com/lsuwten.