BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 13 LSU women’s tennis team celebrated Senior Day in style with a 4-0 result against Mississippi State on Saturday afternoon at the LSU Tennis Complex.
LSU improves to 14-7 and 7-6 in the SEC. Meanwhile, Mississippi State drops to 15-10 and 3-10 in league play.
“The girls delivered a really positive performance today,” said head coach Taylor Fogleman. “It was a special day as we celebrated our two seniors, Florentine Dekkers and Carina Holguin, along with our photographer, Gianpaolo Nicolosi. These moments come quickly, and it really highlights how impactful the college experience is for our student-athletes. I thought our team competed with great purpose for those we were honoring. Mississippi State is a well-coached team that plays strongly. In doubles, I felt this was one of our most complete doubles points in a long time, and we carried that momentum into singles. We got off to strong starts across the courts and did a great job closing things out, while Kayla Cross battled tough, and Addison Lanton and Kenna Erickson were locked in competitive third sets before play was halted. Overall, it was a very comprehensive performance, and we’ll need more of that as we head on the road for two tough matches next week. We’ll get the group rested and ready to give our best in the final two regular-season matches.”
Addison Lanton and Alexia Marginean started doubles play on the third court against Emma Cohen and Thes Ntondele Zinga. The LSU pair opened the set with a quick 3-0 lead. Afterward, despite a late rally from Cohen and Zinga, Lanton and Marginean captured the final three of six games to post a 6-3 win. The pair now holds six wins in the dual campaign.
No. 51 Kenna Erickson and Ella McDonald were in a position to clinch the doubles point on the second court against a ranked pairing in No. 52 Gianna Oboniye and Athina Pitta. After dropping the first game, Erickson and McDonald jumped ahead for a 3-1 advantage. The two sides then traded games down the stretch, with LSU maintaining the edge before closing out the match with a 6-4 victory to award LSU the doubles point.
After her doubles triumph, McDonald opened singles play against Chiara Di Genova on court 3. The England native posted a dominant 6-0 win in the opening set. In the second, after dropping the first game, McDonald surged ahead for a 4-1 advantage and later closed the set out with a 6-2 result to give LSU a 2-0 lead.
Celebrating a match day birthday, Carolina Kuhl took on Mia Robinson on court No. 5. Kuhl took control early, building a 3-1 lead in the opening set before pulling away for a 6-2 result. She carried that momentum into the second, jumping out to a 4-0 advantage and cruising to a 6-1 victory to earn her 11th win of the season and give LSU a 3-0 lead.
Looking to clinch the win, No. 34 Cadence Brace battled Oboniye on the top spot. Following a brief 1-1 tie, Brace earned the final five games for a 6-1 first-set win. Oboniye stole the opening game of the second set, but Brace responded by jumping ahead 3-1. As Oboniye attempted to rally and close the gap, Brace maintained her form, pulling away for a 6-3 second-set victory to clinch the 4-0 win for LSU.
Up Next
LSU hits the road to take on Kentucky on Thursday, Apr. 9, at 4:00 p.m. CT at the Hilary J. Boone 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 Mississippi State
04/4/26 at Baton Rouge, La.
LSU Tennis Complex
#13 LSU 4, Mississippi State 0
Singles competition
1. #34 Cadence Brace (LSU) def. Gianna Oboniye (MSST) 6-1, 6-3
2. #64 Kayla Cross (LSU) vs. Thes Ntondele Zinga (MSST) 7-5, 2-3, unfinished
3. Ella McDonald (LSU) def. Chiara Di Genova (MSST) 6-0, 6-2
4. #122 Addison Lanton (LSU) vs. Carolina Troiano (MSST) 6-0, 2-6, 3-1, unfinished
5. Carolina Kuhl (LSU) def. Mia Robinson (MSST) 6-2, 6-1
6. Kenna Erickson (LSU) vs. Athina Pitta (MSST) 3-6, 6-2, 1-2, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #82 Cadence Brace/Kayla Cross (LSU) vs. #20 Chiara Di Genova/Cha Kempenaers-Pocz (MSST) 5-2, unfinished
2. #51 Kenna Erickson/Ella McDonald (LSU) def. #52 Gianna Oboniye/Athina Pitta (MSST) 6-4
3. Addison Lanton/Alexia Marginean (LSU) def. Emma Cohen/Thes Ntondele Zinga (MSST) 6-3
Match Notes:
LSU 14-7 (7-6 SEC); National ranking #13
Mississippi State 15-10 (3-10 SEC)
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (3,5,1)