BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 4 LSU women’s tennis team delivered a complete performance in its SEC home opener, sweeping No. 23 Florida, 4-0, on Thursday evening at the LSU Tennis Complex.

LSU improves to 9-3 and 2-2 in the conference while Florida drops to 7-3 and 2-2 in the SEC.

“All things considered, it was a really strong performance by our group,” said head coach Taylor Fogleman. “Florida is a very good team and, in my opinion, has the talent to be ranked higher right now. Head coach Per Nilsson and associate head coach Axel Damien have done a great job building that program. I loved the way we started in doubles, and I think that momentum carried into singles. We had some dominant performances and players fighting in every position, even when they were behind. That’s the kind of effort we’re going to need on Saturday and the rest of the way, because the SEC is by far the toughest league in the country. We’re aware of that, we embrace the challenge, and we’re looking forward to another great opportunity against Auburn.”

Freshmen duo Addison Lanton and Alexia Marginean opened doubles play on the third court against India Houghton and Lucie Pawlak. Lanton and Marginean left no doubt in the match, sweeping the Gator pair 6-0 in the lone set.

Cadence Brace and Carolina Kuhl were next on the No. 2 court against Brooke Black and Valery Gynina. After a 1-1 tie to open the set, the LSU pair gained a 2-1 and later a 4-2 advantage. Black and Gynina would attempt to claw back into the set, but Brace and Kuhl closed the set out with a 6-4 win to give LSU the doubles point.

Lanton took on doubles foe No. 88 Pawlak on the fifth court in the first singles match. Similar to her doubles display, Lanton swept the first set 6-0. Pawlak would take the first game in the second set, but Lanton would go on to secure the final six of seven games to earn a 6-2 win to raise LSU’s advantage to 2-0.

On the top court, No. 52 Brace faced No. 103, Houghton. After a 1-1 tie, Brace surged ahead with four straight games to take a commanding 5-1 lead before closing the set 6-2. In the second, Brace maintained control, building a 2-1 advantage before later securing the 6-1 set win to give LSU a 3-0 lead.

In a position to clinch the win, Ella McDonald took on No. 26 Gabia Paskauskas on the third court. McDonald opened with a 2-0 lead before the set leveled at 2-2, but the England native responded by claiming four of the final five games to take the first set 6-2. In the second, McDonald erased an early 1-0 deficit before breaking a 3-3 tie and winning three straight games to secure the 6-3 win.

Up Next

LSU remains at home to host a top-five matchup against No. 5 Auburn on Saturday, Mar. 7, at noon CT at the LSU Tennis Complex.

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

LSU vs Florida
03/05/26 at Baton Rouge, La.
LSU Tennis Complex
#4 LSU 4, #23 Florida 0

Singles competition
1. #52 Cadence Brace (LSU) def. #103 India Houghton (FLA-W) 6-2, 6-1
2. #65 Kayla Cross (LSU) vs. #76 Valery Gynina (FLA-W) 6-4, 5-4, unfinished
3. Ella McDonald (LSU) def. #26 Gabia Paskauskas (FLA-W) 6-2, 6-3
4. Carolina Kuhl (LSU) vs. Brooke Black (FLA-W) 4-6, 2-4, unfinished
5. Addison Lanton (LSU) def. Lucie Pawlak (FLA-W) 6-0, 6-2
6. Alexia Marginean (LSU) vs. Xinyi Nong (FLA-W) 3-6, 2-5, unfinished

Doubles competition
1. #9 Kayla Cross/Ella McDonald (LSU) vs. #19 Nikola Daubnerova/Xinyi Nong (FLA-W) 4-5, unfinished
2. Cadence Brace/Carolina Kuhl (LSU) def. Brooke Black/Valery Gynina (FLA-W) 6-4
3. Addison Lanton/Alexia Marginean (LSU) def. India Houghton/Lucie Pawlak (FLA-W) 6-0

Match Notes:
LSU 9-3 (2-2 SEC); National ranking #4
Florida 7-3 (2-2 SEC); National ranking #23
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (5,1,3)