No. 7 LSU Set for Road Matches at Arkansas, No. 10 Oklahoma
BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 7 LSU women’s tennis team is back on the road to take on Arkansas on Friday, Mar. 13, at 5:00 p.m. CT at the Billingsley Tennis Center in Fayetteville. Two days later, the Tigers head to Norman to face off against No. 10 Oklahoma at noon CT at the Headington Family Tennis Center.
According to the latest official ITA rankings (Mar. 10), LSU ranks No. 7 in the dual season team rankings.
Last time out, the Tigers hosted No. 23 Florida in a 4-0 win followed by a 4-2 setback against No. 5 Auburn.
LSU holds a 9-4 record on the season and has clinched the doubles point in eight of its matches. The Tigers own a 37-17 singles mark and a 19-13 doubles record.
Following ITA Kickoff Weekend, on Jan. 28, Carolina Kuhl was named the SEC Freshman of the Week. Kuhl has registered a 7-4 start in singles play. 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 five doubles victories with three 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.
Brace holds a 4-0 mark on the top spot, behind two ranked victories, most recently highlighted by taking down Florida’s No. 103 India Houghton, 6-2, 6-1.
Cross holds a 3-0 singles mark on the season, highlighted by most recently downing Auburn’s No. 50 Ekaterina Khairutdinova, 6-4, 0-6, 6-0.
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 3-1 record this season, all against ranked opponents.
McDonald checks in with a 4-2 singles mark. Most recently, she posted a ranked victory to clinch the match win against Florida’s No. 26 Gabia Paskauskas, 6-2, 6-3, as well as three doubles wins on the season with Erickson. Likewise, Erickson has collected two singles victories on the third and fifth courts this season.
Lanton has had a strong start to her freshman campaign with a team-leading 9-2 mark behind victories on the first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth courts.
Finally, Graham has collected three singles wins this season, most recently defeating Auburn’s No. 31 Ava Esposito in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.
Arkansas holds a 10-5 record on the season with one win in conference play. The Razorbacks are represented in the ITA singles ranking by No. 23 Carolina Gomez Alonso. Furthermore, No. 22 Anet Koskel and Alonso make up the lone ranked doubles pairing. Head coach Tucker Clary is in his third season at the helm. LSU holds a 28-20 all-time record against Arkansas and is currently riding a five-match winning streak.
Oklahoma is ranked No. 10 behind a 12-4 record and a 3-2 start in conference play. Head coach Audra Cohen leads the Sooners in her 10th season at the helm. Oklahoma features three players in the ITA singles rankings, including No. 30 Julia Garcia Ruiz, No. 63 Edda Mamedova, and No. 71 Evialina Laskevich. The Sooners own four ranked doubles pairings, highlighted by the top duo in the country in No. 1 Roisin Gilheany and Gloriana Nahum. Beyond that, No. 37 Laskevich and Mamedova, No. 40 Garcia Ruiz and Oyinlomo Quadre, and No. 78 Laura Brunkel and Quadre also feature. The Tigers hold a 3-2 record against Oklahoma and are looking for their first win over the program since 1987.
For more information on the LSU women’s tennis program, follow the Tigers on X @lsuwten, Instagram @LSUWTen, and Facebook.com/lsuwten.