No. 10-Seeded LSU Set for Super Regional Matchup Against No. 7-Seeded Virginia
BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 10-seeded LSU women’s tennis team heads to Charlottesville to take on No. 7-seeded Virginia in the NCAA Super Regional on Saturday, May. 9, at noon CT, at the Virginia Tennis Facility at Boar’s Head Resort.
According to the latest official ITA rankings (Apr. 30), LSU ranks No. 10 in the dual season team rankings.
The Tigers advance to the NCAA Super Regionals for the fourth time in program history (1995, 2000, 2025, 2026) and for the second consecutive season.
Last time out, the Tigers took care of business in the Baton Rouge Regional, sweeping Stephen F. Austin, 4-0, before securing a 4-1 victory against Rice.
LSU holds a 21-9 record on the season and has clinched the doubles point in 17 of its matches. The Tigers own an 84-41 singles mark and a 44-27 doubles record.
The Tigers feature five ranked singles players in No. 9 Cadence Brace, No. 21 Kayla Cross, No. 77 Ella McDonald, No. 96 Addison Lanton, and No. 125 Kenna Erickson in the latest ITA rankings. Furthermore, LSU has three ranked doubles pairings: No. 17 Erickson and McDonald, No. 18 Cross and McDonald, and No. 40 Brace and Cross.
Brace holds an 11-5 mark on the top spot, behind seven ranked victories. The sophomore took down Oklahoma’s then-No. 7 Evialina Laskevich, 6-0, 6-3, for Brace’s first top-10 victory of the season. In the next match, the sophomore clinched the 4-1 win against Georgia with a result against then-No. 20 Anastasiia Lopata, 7-5, 6-1, sending the Tigers to the SEC Championship.
Cross holds an 8-2 singles mark on the season. The sophomore holds five ranked victories on the campaign, highlighted by taking down Auburn’s then-No. 28 Ekaterina Khairutdinova, 6-2, 7-6(5) in the SEC Championship. Cross clinched the match against Rice with a 6-1, 6-2 result against Felicia Back, sending LSU to the regional championship.
McDonald checks in with a 10-5 singles mark. At the SEC Tournament, the sophomore earned a hard-fought 7-6(4), 7-6(2) clinching victory over Oklahoma’s then-No. 59 Julia Garcia Ruiz. In the next match, McDonald picked up a 6-4, 6-2 win against Georgia’s then-No. 68 Deniz Dilek.
In doubles play, McDonald has earned 11 wins on the season with Erickson behind five ranked victories. The pairing earned two ranked victories at the SEC Tournament against Tennessee’s then-No. 23 Aulia/ Britez Risso, 6-2, and Oklahoma’s then-No. 17 Laskevich/ Mamedova, 6-3.
Lanton continues her strong freshman campaign with a team-leading 20-2 mark behind victories on the first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth courts. Lanton is also currently riding an 11-match winning streak in singles. Highlight victories include a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 come-from-behind effort against Georgia’s then-No. 54 Anastasiia Gureva in the SEC semifinal round. In doubles play, the freshman has earned 15 total victories with four different partners.
Following ITA Kickoff Weekend, on Jan. 28, Carolina Kuhl was named the SEC Freshman of the Week. Kuhl has registered an 18-7 record in singles play with four ranked victories, riding an eight-match winning streak. Kuhl clinched the regional championship against Rice against Nithesa Selvaraj in a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 come-from-behind effort.
Virginia holds a 23-5 record on the season and reached the ACC Championship. The Cavaliers swiftly won their regional with 4-0 results against Saint Francis and No. 22 Washington. Virginia is represented in the ITA singles rankings by No. 28 Annabelle Xu, No. 65 Vivian Yang, No. 84 Katie Rolls, and No. 119 Isabelle Lacy. In doubles, No. 10 Melodie Collard and Yang, and No. 25 Martina Salas and Xu make up the ranked pairings. LSU faces Virginia for the second time in program history and the first since 2016. Head coach Sara O’Leary leads the Cavaliers in her ninth season.
For more information on the LSU women’s tennis program, follow the Tigers on X @lsuwten, Instagram @LSUWTen, and Facebook.com/lsuwten.