In the SEC Championship held on Sunday at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, Oklahoma, the No. 9-seeded LSU women’s tennis team was narrowly defeated by the No. 3-seeded Auburn, 4–3.
On the third doubles court, LSU’s Addison Lanton and Carolina Kuhl faced Ashton Bowers and Ekaterina Khairutdinova. The LSU duo fell behind early and never recovered, losing the set 6–0.
Looking to keep doubles play alive, the 29th-ranked pair of Kenna Erickson and Ella McDonald competed against No. 18 Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat on court two. After taking a 1–0 lead, Erickson and McDonald slipped to a 3–1 deficit. They managed to close the gap to 3–2, but Okutoyi and Refaat sealed the set 6–2, securing the doubles point for Auburn.
In singles, Kuhl started on court five against her previous doubles opponent, No. 55 Bowers. Kuhl led 2–1 early, then fell behind 4–3 before rallying to win the last three games and take the first set 6–4. She dominated the second set, jumping to a 5–0 lead; Bowers won two games, but Kuhl finished it 6–2, tying the overall match at 1–1.
On the top court, No. 18 Cadence Brace faced No. 23 DJ Bennett. Brace lost the first set 6–3 after an early deficit, despite pulling even at 3–3. She then trailed 3–0 in the second set and couldn’t recover, falling 6–2, giving Auburn a 2–1 advantage.
Seeking redemption after her doubles loss, No. 108 Addison Lanton took on Refaat on court four. After an initial 1–0 lead, Lanton fell behind 3–1 and later 5–3, but she mounted an impressive comeback, winning four consecutive games to snatch the first set 7–5. The second set saw four lead changes; Lanton broke a 4–4 tie to win 6–4, evening the match at 2–2.
On court two, No. 46 Kayla Cross faced No. 28 Khairutdinova with a chance to take the lead. After dropping the first game, Cross surged to a 3–1 advantage and controlled the rest of the set, winning 6–2. In the second set, she led 2–0 before Khairutdinova answered to go up 5–3. Cross battled back with three straight games to lead 6–5, then forced a tiebreak and won 7–6(5), putting LSU ahead 3–2.
McDonald met her doubles opponent, No. 70 Okutoyi, on court three. She raced to a 4–0 lead in the first set but couldn’t hold on, dropping six straight games to lose 6–4. The second set featured four lead changes; McDonald rallied from 5–4 down to lead 6–5, but ultimately lost in a seven-point tiebreaker 7–6(4), knotting the match at 3–3.
With the SEC title on the line, Kinaa Graham faced Eva Ionescu on court six in a tense back-and-forth battle. Graham dropped the first set 6–4 but responded resiliently in the second, overcoming a 6–5 deficit to force a tiebreak and win 7–6(4). In the decisive third set, Graham built an early 3–1 lead before Ionescu surged ahead 5–3. Graham fought back to 5–5 and later 6–6, forcing another tiebreak, but ultimately fell 6–7(2) as Ionescu clinched the match.
With the loss, LSU’s record drops to 19–9, while Auburn improves to 32–3. LSU will return to action in the NCAA regional from May 1–4.
