No. 10-Seeded LSU Gears Up for Elite Eight Matchup Against No. 2-Seeded Auburn
BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 10-seeded LSU women’s tennis team heads to Athens, Ga., to take on No. 2-seeded and No. 1 nationally ranked Auburn in the NCAA Quarterfinal on Friday, May 15, at 9:00 a.m. CT, at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
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 Quarterfinal for the second time in program history (2025, 2026) and for the second consecutive season.
Last time out, the Tigers traveled to Charlottesville and earned a convincing 4-1 result against No. 7-seeded Virginia in the NCAA Super Regional.
LSU holds a 22-9 record on the season and has clinched the doubles point in 18 of its matches. The Tigers own an 87-42 singles mark and a 46-28 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 a 12-5 mark on the top spot, behind eight ranked victories. 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. Most recently, she earned a dominant 6-1, 6-4 result against Virginia’s No. 65 Vivian Yang to clinch LSU’s berth to the Elite Eight.
Cross holds an 8-3 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 an 11-5 singles mark. At the SEC Tournament, the sophomore picked up a 6-4, 6-2 win against Georgia’s then-No. 68 Deniz Dilek. Most recently, McDonald posted a 7-5, 6-1 win against Virginia’s No. 84 Katie Rolls, 7-5, 6-1.
In doubles play, McDonald has earned 12 wins on the season with Erickson behind six ranked victories. The pairing clinched the doubles point against Virginia’s No. 25 Martina Genis Salas and Annabelle Xu, 7-5.
Lanton continues her strong freshman campaign with a team-leading 21-2 mark behind victories on the first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth courts. Lanton is also currently riding a 12-match winning streak in singles. The freshman secured a 6-4, 6-3 win over Virginia’s No. 119 Isabelle Lacy. In doubles play, the freshman has earned 16 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.
Auburn boasts a 35-3 record on the season and advanced to the Elite Eight after a 4-2 result against Duke. The Tigers are represented in the ITA singles rankings by No. 16 DJ Bennett, No. 31 Ekaterina Khairutdinova, No. 55 Angella Okutoyi, No. 58 Ashton Bowers, and No. 68 Ava Esposito. In doubles, No. 2 DJ Bennett and Ava Esposito, and No. 8 Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat make up the ranked pairings. Head coach Jordan Szabo leads Auburn in his second season. LSU holds 30 all-time wins against Auburn and faces off for the third time this season, falling 4-2 on Mar. 7, and a narrow 4-3 loss on Apr. 19 in the SEC Championship.
For more information on the LSU women’s tennis program, follow the Tigers on X @lsuwten, Instagram @LSUWTen, and Facebook.com/lsuwten.