BATON ROUGE, La. – Freshman Carolina Kuhl posted a dominant 6-0, 6-3 result on the fourth court to lift the No. 5 LSU women’s tennis team past San Diego in a 4-0 sweep on Monday afternoon at the LSU Tennis Complex.

LSU moves to 2-0 while San Diego drops to 1-1 on the season. The Tigers have posted two consecutive shutouts to open the season for the first time since 2023.

“Today was a good day for us,” said head coach Taylor Fogleman. “San Diego is a well-coached team that competed really hard despite the scoreline. Our girls did a really nice job to start the match, even with new teams and new pairings. However, the girls handled that honor well. In singles, we played some great tennis. Though there are things we can improve on, I liked the energy the girls brought on and off the court. All in all, it was a successful day.”

Coach Fogleman added, “Now, this week, we will work on some things that we need to before a great opportunity this weekend as we host the ITA Kickoff Weekend on our home courts.”

All-American doubles pairing Cadence Brace and Kayla Cross took on San Diego’s Vilma Krebs-Hyllested and Kristina Nordikyan in the top spot to open doubles play. The sophomore pairing jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead before Krebs-Hyllested and Nordikyan stole a game. Brace and Cross would extend the lead before later closing out the lone set with a 6-2 win.

In a position to clinch the doubles point, Kinaa Graham and Addison Lanton resumed their partnership on the second court against Anni Moll and Hannah Read. Graham and Lanton surged ahead for an early 3-0 lead in the first set. However, Moll and Read attempted to cut into the lead, bringing the set score to 3-2. Afterward, the Tiger duo captured the final three of four games to earn a 6-3 set win to award LSU the doubles point.

Opening singles play, Ella McDonald made her debut as a Tiger against Ines Leon on Court No. 3. The England native took the first two games before Leon cut into the lead. Following the setback, McDonald took the final four games to win the first set 6-1. The following set saw a similar pattern, with the sophomore dropping only one game en route to a consecutive 6-1 set result to give LSU a 2-0 match advantage and see McDonald earn her first career victory as a Tiger.

No. 78 Lanton was next up as she battled Maria Shmakova on the fifth court. Lanton captured the first two games before Shmakova cut into the lead at 2-1. The freshman closed out the set with four straight games to earn a 6-1 first-set win. The second set followed the same result, with Lanton only dropping one game for another 6-1 set win to push LSU’s match advantage to 3-0.

Looking to clinch the match win, Carolina Kuhl made her LSU debut on the fourth court against Krebs-Hyllested. The freshman posted a dominant showing in the first set with a 6-0 sweep. The following set was more competitive, with two ties before Kuhl jumped ahead for a 5-2 advantage. Krebs-Hyllested would steal a game before the German earned a 6-3 result to gain her first victory as a Tiger and clinch the match win.

Up Next

LSU hosts the ITA Kickoff Weekend at the LSU Tennis Complex, opening their campaign with a bout against Marshall on Saturday, Jan. 24, at 2:00 p.m. CT.

For more information on the LSU women’s tennis program, follow the Tigers on X @lsuwten, Instagram @LSUWTen, and Facebook.com/lsuwten.

LSU vs San Diego
Jan 19, 2026
LSU Tennis Complex
#5 LSU 4, San Diego 0

Singles competition
1. Cadence Brace (LSU) vs. Charlotte Keitel (USD-W) 6-0, 5-1, unfinished
2. Kayla Cross (LSU) vs. #53 Hannah Read (USD-W) 3-6, 5-5, unfinished
3. Ella McDonald (LSU) def. Ines Leon (USD-W) 6-1, 6-1
4. Carolina Kuhl (LSU) def. Vilma KrebsHyllested (USD-W) 6-0, 6-3
5. #78 Addison Lanton (LSU) def. Maria Shmakova (USD-W) 6-1, 6-1
6. Florentine Dekkers (LSU) vs. Gabby Gregg (USD-W) 4-6, 3-4, unfinished

Doubles competition
1. Cadence Brace/Kayla Cross (LSU) def. Vilma KrebsHyllested/Kristina Nordikyan (USD-W) 6-2
2. Kenna Erickson/Ella McDonald (LSU) vs. Maria Shmakova/Charlotte Keitel (USD-W) 4-3, unfinished
3. Addison Lanton/Kinaa Graham (LSU) def. Anni Moll/Hannah Read (USD-W) 6-3

Match Notes:
LSU 2-0; National ranking #5
San Diego 1-1
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,5,4)
Official: Richie Weaver