#16 [8] Lady Vols Fall in SEC Championships Second Round to #15 [9] LSU, 4-1

Thursday, April 16

Norman, Okla.

4 p.m. ET

University of Tennessee

[9] LSU

#16 [8] Lady Vols Fall in SEC Championships Second Round to #15 [9] LSU, 4-1

April 16, 2026 | Women's Tennis

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

NORMAN, Okla. – The No. 16 University of Tennessee women's tennis team (13-9, 8-7 SEC) dropped a 4-1 decision Thursday to the No. 15 LSU Tigers in the second round of the SEC Championships held on the University of Oklahoma campus.

"That's the best LSU team I've seen, and that's the best team we've played all year long," Tennessee Head Coach Alison Ojeda said. "You're looking at a team that might win the whole thing, and we were right there."

Tennessee dropped the doubles point, losing sets on courts two and three to give the Tigers (17-8, 8-7 SEC) a 1-0 lead. LSU opened the doubles round on a tear, quickly taking 5-1 leads on both courts two and three before staving off the Lady Vols' comeback efforts.

LSU carried momentum to singles play, taking five first sets.

The first singles match to finish was on court three, as LSU's Ella McDonald defeated Tennessee's No. 80 Vanesa Suarez by a 6-1, 6-2 score.

The Tigers' Carolina Kuhl would register the next point, as she finalized a 6-3, 6-4 decision on court five to take down Francesca Mattioli, giving the Tigers a 3-0 advantage.

Tennessee, though, fought back on courts four and six, as Catherine Aulia and Maeve Thornton each posted strong second sets to draw even. Thornton put the Lady Vols on the board with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 comeback winner against No. 107 Kenna Erickson.

No. 35 Leyla Britez Risso, the lone Lady Vol to win her first set, found herself on the other side of a similar comeback to Thornton's, courtesy of LSU's No. 46 Kayla Cross. The Lady Vol Senior delivered a dominant 6-1 first set. Cross, however, earned a break to take the second set 6-4. Cross would take the final set 6-3, earning the win of court two and icing the Tiger victory.

Aulia led, 4-3, in the final set on court four and Katrina Scott was closing in on a second set on court one (5-7, 5-2) at the time the match was clinched.

NEXT UP:
Tennessee now awaits its postseason fate and will find out its seed and site for the NCAA Tournament at a future date. The NCAA Tournament will begin on May 1.