No. 9 LSU will travel to Columbia to face No. 17 South Carolina on Thursday, February 26 at the Carolina Tennis Center, with the match set for 11:00 a.m. CT. Two days later, the Tigers are scheduled to play against No. 1 Georgia in Athens at 1:00 p.m. CT.
LSU is currently ranked No. 9 in the official ITA dual season team rankings as of February 25. The team holds a record of 7-2 this season and has secured the doubles point in six matches so far. Their singles record stands at 29-10, while their doubles teams have gone 14-8.
In their most recent match, LSU opened SEC play with a loss to Ole Miss by a score of 5-2. Freshmen Carolina Kuhl and Addison Lanton earned singles victories during that match.
Freshman Carolina Kuhl was recognized as SEC Freshman of the Week following her performance at the ITA Kickoff Weekend, where she clinched a victory over UCLA’s Ahmani Guichard and started her singles campaign with a 6-2 record.
The Tigers have six players listed in the latest ITA singles rankings: Kayla Cross (No. 51), Cadence Brace (No. 75), Kinaa Graham (No. 96), Kenna Erickson (No. 107), Carolina Kuhl (No. 114), and Addison Lanton (No. 115). In doubles, three pairs are ranked: Ella McDonald and Cross (No. 40), McDonald and Erickson (No. 51), and Alexia Marginean and Graham (No. 80).
Kayla Cross achieved her first win of the season against UCLA’s Mayu Crossley and also recorded her first-ranked victory over NC State’s Mia Slama.
Cadence Brace remains undefeated on court one with two wins, including a clinching victory over NC State’s Gabriella Broadfoot.
Ella McDonald has posted a singles record of 3-1, including a ranked win over UCLA, and three doubles wins alongside Erickson this season.
Addison Lanton leads LSU in singles victories this year with an undefeated record of seven wins across multiple courts.
South Carolina enters the match with a similar overall record of 7-2 but lost its conference opener to Georgia. The Gamecocks’ roster includes one ranked singles player, Kaitlyn Carnicella (No. 63), and two ranked doubles teams: Lauren Friedman/Helena Buchwald (No.18) and Carnicella/Anna Larsson (No.19). Kevin Epley is in his thirteenth season as head coach for South Carolina.
Georgia comes into its matchup against LSU riding a five-match winning streak and holding a season record of 6-1 under head coach Drake Bernstein’s leadership in his third year with the program. Six Bulldogs appear in the ITA singles rankings: Aysegul Mert (No.7), Anastasiia Gureva (No.30), Deniz Dilek (No.41), Anastasiia Lopata (No.48), Sofia Rojas (No.52), and Patricija Paukstyte (No.91). Georgia also has four ranked doubles pairs this season.
For more information on the LSU women’s tennis program, follow @lsuwten on X or Instagram or visit Facebook.com/lsuwten.
