No. 5 Texas A&M women’s tennis continued its regular-season winning streak against No. 11 LSU on Sunday, March 29, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. After finding success in their doubles matchups, the Aggies took over the singles courts to cage the Tigers, 4-1.
Following a home loss to No. 1 Georgia on March 12, A&M has won five straight Southeastern Conference matches, including victories over ranked opponents of then-No. 22 South Carolina, No. 12 Tennessee and No. 10 LSU.
The Aggies got started quickly, taking a 1-0 lead after defeating the Tigers in doubles play. Staying dominant, A&M outperformed LSU in singles, 3-1, to secure its 10th win in SEC play.
The Maroon and White avoided the highly-ranked sophomore duo of No. 11 Ella McDonald and Kayla Cross, as well as the No. 67 doubles duo, junior Kenna Erickson and McDonald.
Nevertheless, Court 1’s doubles matchup, featuring No. 8 junior Lucciana Perez and senior Mia Kupres, presented a contested, 6-3, defeat. In the face of adversity, the Maroon and White got the job done on Courts 2 and 3 to seal the doubles point. A&M prevailed 6-4 on Court 3, while Court 2 required an extended set to seal the 7-6 victory.
Senior Daria Smetannikov and sophomore Lexington Reed gave A&M its initial lead, defeating freshmen duo Addison Lanton and Alexia Marginean on Court 3. Not long after, sophomore duo Cadence Brace and Cross answered for LSU with a win over Perez and Kupres. In the final doubles match on Court 3, No. 75 duo senior Violeta Martinez and freshman Ilinca Amariei clinched the Aggies’ doubles victory with a win over freshman Carolina Kuhl and Erickson.
Singles play began on Court 6, where Smetannikov extended A&M’s lead in dominant fashion. The Marlboro, New Jersey native took down Marginean in straight sets, prevailing with a pair of 6-1 wins.
Moments later, the Aggies extended their advantage on Court 4, as Reed finished off Kuhl in two sets. Securing a 7-5 extended-set victory in Set 1, the Orlando, Florida native crushed Kuhl in Set 2, 6-1.
Gasping for air under A&M’s pressure, LSU avoided a shutout loss on Court 3 to get on the board, 3-1. Lanton beat Amariei in straight sets, prevailing 6-3 and 6-2 to keep the Tigers in the match.
The Fightin’ Farmers clinched the match on Court 1, where No. 2 Perez cruised past No. 58 Brace in straight sets to secure A&M’s victory. The Peruvian sealed the singles point with a pair of 6-3 and 6-2 wins, marking her 30th consecutive SEC regular-season victory.
Matches on Courts 2 and 5 were left unfinished as play came to a halt.
On Court 2, No. 31 Kupres remained tied at one set a piece with No. 45 Cross, facing a 3-0 deficit in Set 3. On Court 5, No. 96 Martinez battled Erickson, 5-4, after securing the opening set, 6-4.
With the win over the Tigers, the Aggies secured their sixth victory over a top-25 ITA-ranked team this season, pushing their conference record to 10-1, 18-3 overall.
A&M will return to action on Thursday, April 2, at home at the Mitchell Tennis Center to host No. 2 Auburn at 5 p.m.
