The University of Tennessee women’s tennis team lost to Louisiana State University, 4-1, in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Championships on Apr. 16. The match took place at the University of Oklahoma campus.
This result means Tennessee will now wait to learn its placement and location for the upcoming NCAA Tournament, which begins May 1.
Tennessee dropped the doubles point after losing on courts two and three, giving LSU an early lead. The Tigers continued their strong performance into singles play by taking five first sets. LSU’s Ella McDonald defeated Vanesa Suarez 6-1, 6-2 on court three for the first singles win. Carolina Kuhl added another point for LSU with a straight-set victory over Francesca Mattioli on court five.
Despite being down 3-0, Tennessee responded as Catherine Aulia and Maeve Thornton pushed their matches to third sets. Thornton secured a win against Kenna Erickson with a comeback score of 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 to put Tennessee on the board. On court two, Leyla Britez Risso won her first set but ultimately fell to Kayla Cross after Cross rallied back for a three-set victory that clinched the match for LSU.
At the time of clinch, Aulia was leading in her final set and Katrina Scott was close to forcing a third set in her own match.
“That’s the best LSU team I’ve seen, and that’s the best team we’ve played all year long,” said Tennessee Head Coach Alison Ojeda. “You’re looking at a team that might win the whole thing, and we were right there.”
