BATON ROUGE, La. — No. 12 Vanderbilt women’s tennis’ five-match win streak was snapped in Baton Rouge as the Commodores fell 5-2 to No. 11 LSU at the LSU Tennis Complex on Saturday.
After winning two consecutive doubles points against Alabama and Ole Miss, Vanderbilt (16-5, 6-3 SEC) was unable to generate momentum to begin the match. The Commodores fell at Courts 2 and 3 as LSU (12-5, 5-4 SEC) claimed the early advantage. Vandy is now 0-3 when losing the doubles point this season.
The Tigers maintained control of the momentum in singles play, taking five of six first sets. LSU quickly picked up its second point at No. 4 singles, eventually moving up 3-0 with a win from No. 58 Cadence Brace at its top position. Vanderbilt netted its first match win at Court 6 courtesy of sophomore Sophia Webster, who downed Alexia Marginean 6-3, 6-2. The victory began to spark a potential comeback as freshman Erin Pearce and No. 25 junior Valeria Ray forced third sets at their respective courts. But it was too little, too late for the Commodores as LSU delivered its fourth point at No. 3 singles from Carolina Kuhl. The remaining matches were played out, allowing Ray to lock down the third set and defeat No. 88 Ella McDonald for Vandy’s final point.
Vanderbilt continues its road trip on March 27 with a visit to rival No. 18 Tennessee (8-5, 4-4 SEC) before heading to Lexington for a matchup with Kentucky (8-9, 0-8 SEC) on March 29. For more information, updates and exclusive match day content, follow the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team, @VandyWTennis, on Instagram and X.
No. 11 LSU 5, No. 12 Vanderbilt 2
Doubles
1. Brace/Kuhl [LSU] vs. No. 25 Ray/Bridget Stammel [Vanderbilt] 5-3, unfinished
2. No. 67 Kenna Erickson/McDonald [LSU] def. Pearce/Mia Yamakita [Vanderbilt] 6-3
3. Addison Lanton/Marginean [LSU] def. Sonya Macavei/Webster [Vanderbilt] 6-3
Singles
1. No. 58 Brace [LSU] def. No. 33 Stammel [Vanderbilt] 6-3, 6-1
2. No. 25 Ray [Vanderbilt] def. No. 88 McDonald [LSU] 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
3. Kuhl [LSU] def. No. 93 Yamakita [Vanderbilt] 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
4. Lanton [LSU] def. Trinetra Vijayakumar [Vanderbilt] 6-3, 6-2
5. Erickson [LSU] def. Pearce [Vanderbilt] 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3)
6. Webster [Vanderbilt] def. Marginean [LSU] 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,1,6,3,2,5)
