BATON ROUGE, La. – Freshman Carolina Kuhl earned a second consecutive match clinch in a 7-6(3), 6-4 result on the third court as the No. 11 LSU women’s tennis team downed No. 12 Vanderbilt, 5-2, on Saturday afternoon at the LSU Tennis Complex.
LSU improves to 12-5 overall and 5-4 in the SEC. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt drops to 16-5 overall and 6-3 in conference play. The Tigers earn their first win over the Commodores since 2022.
“Great effort from our girls today,” said head coach Taylor Fogleman. “Vanderbilt is a great, well-coached team. We have been on the short end of it against them the last couple of years, so we were happy with the result today. I loved the way we came out in the doubles and brought the right level of play. Also, I was really pleased with the performance on all three courts. The ladies carried that energy over into the singles as well, getting off to some strong starts and continuing to battle hard. Overall, it was a great, gutsy team win for us. We will certainly take the result and run with it. Now, we look ahead and are very excited to be back at home for a couple of matches against two more great teams in our conference, Texas and Texas A&M.”
Addison Lanton and Alexia Marginean started the match on the third spot against Sonya Macavei and Sophia Webster. After a brief 1-1 tie to open the lone set, Lanton and Marginean surged ahead for a 4-1 advantage. Macavei and Webster would alter the scoreline to 4-3; however, the LSU duo secured the final two games to earn a 6-3 win. The pair now have a 3-1 mark on the season.
No. 67 Kenna Erickson and Ella McDonald resumed their partnership on the second court against Erin Pearce and Mia Yamakita. Erickson and McDonald gained momentum early and held a 4-0 lead. Despite dropping two straight, the LSU duo collected the final two of three games to post a 6-3 set win, awarding LSU the doubles point.
Following her doubles triumph, Lanton took on Trinetra Vijayakumar on the fourth court. Following a tie to open the first set, Lanton jumped ahead for a 3-1 and a later 5-2 lead. Vijayakumar stole a game, but Lanton closed the set out for a 6-3 win. The freshman maintained her form to open the second set with a 4-0 lead. Despite dropping two games, she earned the final two games for a 6-2 set win to put LSU up 2-0.
After retiring due to injury in her last appearance, No. 58 Cadence Brace returned to the lineup against No. 33 Bridget Stammel on the top spot. The sophomore fell behind 2-1 early in the set but responded by winning four consecutive games, carrying that momentum to a 6-3 set victory. Similarly, after dropping the first game, Brace dominated in the second set to post a commanding 6-1 win to give LSU a 3-0 lead. Brace now holds three ranked victories on the season.
Marginean was next for the Tigers against Webster on court No. 6. The freshman held a brief 2-1 advantage in the opening set before Webster later secured the 6-3 set win. Despite holding a 2-0 lead in the following set, Marginean was unable to rally and fell 6-2 to alter the match score to 3-1.
In familiar territory to clinch the match, Kuhl took on No. 93 Yamakita on the third spot. The freshman trailed 3-0 and later 4-2 to open the first set. Afterwards, Kuhl regained momentum and tied the set at 5-5 and 6-6 to force a seven-point tiebreaker, earning a 7-6(3) result. In a back-and-forth second set, Kuhl held a 3-1 lead before the match featured consecutive ties until the German native broke away for a 6-4 set win to clinch the 4-1 win for LSU.
With the remaining matches playing out, No. 88 McDonald faced No. 25 Valeria Ray on the second court. McDonald opened strong, building a 5-2 lead before closing out the first set 6-4. Ray responded with a 6-1 second-set win to force a decider. In the final set, McDonald jumped ahead 2-0, but Ray rallied to win six of the final seven games, downing the LSU sophomore 6-3 and altering the match score to 4-2.
With one court left, Erickson looked to earn another victory on the day as she battled her doubles opponent, Pearce, on court No. 5. Erickson raced out to a 4-0 lead and, despite a rally from Pearce, held on late to take the opening set 6-4. Pearce answered with a 6-2 second set to even the match. In the decider, Erickson battled back from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits, with the set going point-for-point before reaching a seven-point tiebreaker, where the junior pulled away to secure a 7-6(3) victory to conclude the match for a 5-2 LSU win.
Up Next
LSU hosts Texas on Friday, Mar. 27, at 5:00 p.m. 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 Vanderbilt
03/21/26 at Baton Rouge, La.
LSU Tennis Complex
#11 LSU 5, No. 12 Vanderbilt 2
Singles competition
1. #58 Cadence Brace (LSU) def. #33 Bridget Stammel (VAN) 6-3, 6-1
2. #88 Ella McDonald (LSU) fell to #25 Valeria Ray (VAN) 6-4, 1-6, 3-6
3. Carolina Kuhl (LSU) def. #93 Mia Yamakita (VAN) 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
4. Addison Lanton (LSU) def. Trinetra Vijayakumar (VAN) 6-3, 6-2
5. Kenna Erickson (LSU) def. Erin Pearce (VAN) 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3)
6. Alexia Marginean (LSU) fell to Sophia Webster (VAN) 3-6, 2-6
Doubles competition
1. Cadence Brace/Carolina Kuhl (LSU) vs. #25 Valeria Ray/Bridget Stammel (VAN) 5-3, unfinished
2. #67 Kenna Erickson/Ella McDonald (LSU) def. Erin Pearce/Mia Yamakita (VAN) 6-3
3. Addison Lanton/Alexia Marginean (LSU) def. Sonya Macavei/Sophia Webster (VAN) 6-3
Match Notes:
LSU 12-5 (5-4 SEC); National ranking #11
Vanderbilt Women’s Tennis 16-5 (6-3 SEC); National ranking #12
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,1,6,3,2,5)