LSU Spring Sports Recap – March 21

March 22, 2026 Tiger Rag News Services Beach volleyball, Featured, Men's tennis, More LSU Sports, Softball, Swimming and Diving, Track & Field, Women's Tennis 0
Cece Cellura, LSU
The No. 22 LSU softball team defeated No. 21 South Carolina 5-1 on Saturday afternoon. (Photo by LSU Athletics)

Tiger Rag News Services

SOFTBALL

A complete team effort that featured Cece Cellura’s second consecutive complete game and Kylee Edwards continued domination at the plate leveled the series with No. 22/19 LSU defeating No. 21/24 South Carolina, 5-1 in game two on Saturday at Carolina Softball Stadium.

LSU improves its record to 20-10 and 2-6 in SEC play, while South Carolina falls to 21-11 and 1-4 in conference.

Cellura (4-2) and the defense played 6.1 innings of shutout softball. Cellura faced 28 batters in 7.0 innings, striking out two and allowing one run on eight hits. She also induced 10 groundouts, including LSU’s 19th double play of the season, and eight flyouts.

Four LSU players had multiple hits. K. Edwards led with her sixth multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-3, scoring twice (including a steal of home), and walking once.

Destiny Harris and Maddox McKee each went 2-for-2. Harris scored twice, walked, and stole a base. McKee drove in three runs, including a two-RBI triple—her fifth career multi-RBI game. Sierra Daniel was 2-for-4 with two doubles.

Josey Marron (1-2) is charged with the loss for South Carolina. Marron faced only eight batters and gave up one run on three hits and walked one batter before being pulled. Marron finished the game with no strikeouts.

LSU led 1-0 thanks to back-to-back extra-base hits: K. Edwards doubled to left center, and Daniel followed with an RBI double to left for the first two hits of the game.

Jalia Lassiter ended the third inning with a diving, run-saving catch in centerfield, and LSU rewarded the defense and Cellura with three runs in the fourth. K. Edwards opened the stanza with a leadoff single up the middle and made her way to third on Harris’ single. K. Edwards then stole home plate, pushing LSU’s margin to 2-0. Later, with runners on second and third, McKee hit a base-clearing triple down the right field line, stretching the visiting team’s advantage to 4-0 after four frames. All of LSU’s runs in the fourth were scored with two outs.

In the sixth inning, LSU added an insurance run when McKee’s RBI single brought in Harris, making it 5-0. In the seventh, South Carolina broke up the shutout with a home run by Shae Anderson. Cellura then recorded a strikeout and induced a flyout to left field to end the game.

Up Next
The series finale between LSU and South Carolina will be at noon CT on Sunday. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.

MEN’S TENNIS

No. 7 LSU defended its home courts on Friday night against Arkansas, posting a commanding 6-1 result. On court four, Matias Ponce de Leon clinched the match for the Tigers, defeating Dmitry Kopilevich 6-2, 6-4.

With today’s win, LSU improves to 20-3 and 6-2 in SEC play. Notably, this is the first time since 2005 that LSU men’s tennis has earned 20 wins in a season. Furthermore, through 23 games, the Tigers’ 20-3 start is the best since 1998, when they began 22-1.

Arkansas falls to 14-8, going 2-6 in conference play.

“It was a very solid performance from the team today,” said head coach Danny Bryan. “We knew Arkansas had really good doubles, and I think we did a great job getting early leads on courts two and three. In singles, we thought it was going to be important to get off to good starts, and we did just that, getting six first sets. Erik [Arutiunian] and Andrej [Loncarevic] were great at the one and two singles, beating very good opponents in straight sets. The team is really looking forward to a top-10 matchup against a very tough Mississippi State team.”

Up Next

LSU will host No. 6 Mississippi State (15-3, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) on Sunday at noon at the LSU Tennis Complex.

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Freshman Carolina Kuhl earned a second consecutive match clinch in a 7-6(3), 6-4 result on the third court as the No. 11 LSU women’s tennis team downed No. 12 Vanderbilt, 5-2, on Saturday afternoon at the LSU Tennis Complex.

LSU improves to 12-5 overall and 5-4 in the SEC. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt drops to 16-5 overall and 6-3 in conference play. The Tigers earn their first win over the Commodores since 2022.

“Great effort from our girls today,” said head coach Taylor Fogleman. “Vanderbilt is a great, well-coached team. We have been on the short end of it against them the last couple of years, so we were happy with the result today. I loved the way we came out in the doubles and brought the right level of play. Also, I was really pleased with the performance on all three courts. The ladies carried that energy over into the singles as well, getting off to some strong starts and continuing to battle hard. Overall, it was a great, gutsy team win for us. We will certainly take the result and run with it. Now, we look ahead and are very excited to be back at home for a couple of matches against two more great teams in our conference, Texas and Texas A&M.”

Singles competition
1. #58 Cadence Brace (LSU) def. #33 Bridget Stammel (VAN) 6-3, 6-1
2. #88 Ella McDonald (LSU) fell to #25 Valeria Ray (VAN) 6-4, 1-6, 3-6
3. Carolina Kuhl (LSU) def. #93 Mia Yamakita (VAN) 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
4. Addison Lanton (LSU) def. Trinetra Vijayakumar (VAN) 6-3, 6-2
5. Kenna Erickson (LSU) def. Erin Pearce (VAN) 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3)
6. Alexia Marginean (LSU) fell to Sophia Webster (VAN) 3-6, 2-6

Doubles competition
1. Cadence Brace/Carolina Kuhl (LSU) vs. #25 Valeria Ray/Bridget Stammel (VAN) 5-3, unfinished
2. #67 Kenna Erickson/Ella McDonald (LSU) def. Erin Pearce/Mia Yamakita (VAN) 6-3
3. Addison Lanton/Alexia Marginean (LSU) def. Sonya Macavei/Sophia Webster (VAN) 6-3

Up Next

LSU hosts Texas on Friday, Mar. 27, at 5:00 p.m. CT at the LSU Tennis Complex.

TRACK AND FIELD

The LSU track and field team held their first outdoor meet of the season on Saturday at Bernie Moore Track Stadium. The team recorded six top-10 marks in program history and tallied 18-event wins.

There’s not much more you could ask for in a season opener than what the women’s and men’s discus-throw squad delivered on Saturday.

Sophomore Princesse Hyman did not wait a moment to break the LSU record as she opened the collegiate-outdoor season with a throw of 59.90 meters (196-6) to win in discus. The LSU record was previously held by Danyel Mitchell when she tossed for 59.24 meters (194-4) in 1994. The mark of 59.90 sits at No. 1 in the NCAA very early on in the 2026 season and would’ve had her at No. 9 in the nation in last year’s rankings.

Hyman wasn’t the only one to get in on the action in the women’s discus throw as Leah Acosta, Jillian Scully and Ambria Langley all record top-10 marks in LSU history as well. Acosta threw for the No. 4 spot in LSU history of 56.93 meters (186-9) to finish second overall. Freshman Jillian Scully went for 55.63 meters (182-6) on her final toss of the day to take bronze. Last, but certainly not least, Langley record the No. 8 mark in LSU history of 54.82 meters (179-10) to finish fourth. All four LSU women went over the previous meet record.

On the men’s side of discus, sophomore Chad Hendricks was the first Tiger to compete on the day. Hendricks recorded a toss of 59.58 meters (195-5) to win and jump to No. 6 in LSU performance-list history. His new PR puts him at No. 2 in the NCAA early on this season.

The last Tiger to record a top-10 mark in LSU history on Saturday was Jack Larriviere making his return. Larriviere went for 73.54 meters (241-3) on his second throw of the afternoon to win and take down the previous meet record. He is the only student-athlete in the country to go over 70 meters just a couple of weeks into the outdoor season.

Head Coach Dennis Shaver’s Notables
The men’s 4×100 won with a time of 39.06 seconds.
Adeyah Brewster won long jump with a leap of 19-0.75.
Salieci Myles won the 100h with a PR of 13.10 seconds.
Matthew Sophia won the 110h with a time of 13.62.
Malachi Austin won the 400m with a PR of 45.37 seconds.
Mats Swanson won the 800m with a time of 1:49.10.
Aniyah Bigam won the 100m with a time of 11.36.
Myles Thomas won the 100m with a time of 10.14.
Micaela Villarreal won the 800m with a time of 2:09.96.
Isaac Lewis won the 400h with a time of 51.46.
La’Nica Locker won the 200m with a time of 23.05.
Joshua Caleb won the 200m with a time of 20.44.
The women’s B 4×400 won with a time of 4:05.40.
The men’s A 4×400 won with a time of 3:10.26.

SWIMMING AND DIVING

The LSU women’s swimming team capped off the 2026 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships inside the McAuley Aquatic Center by finishing tied for 21st place overall with 35 points.

The finish is the Tigers’ best performance since the 2023-24 season, when the team also took 21st place.

The prelims session on Saturday morning began with Michaela de Villiers recording a time of 48.12 in the 100-free. The time slotted her in 30th for the event.

In the 200-fly, Sofia Sartori earned some points for the Tigers. The senior placed 12th in the event with a time of 1:54.38, giving her All-American Honorable Mention status in the final individual event of her collegiate career. She is the first Tiger to score points individually at this year’s championships. Giulia Zambelli followed with a time of 1:55.90 to finish 21st.

The 400-free relay group took the blocks for the Tiger women’s final event of the season and did so in a point-earning fashion. De Villiers, Avery Littlefield, Zoe Carlos-Broc, and Megan Barnes received All-American Honorable Mention honors for their 15th-place finish. The squad touched the wall with a time of 3:13.41.

In total, the LSU women recorded four All-American performances at this year’s NCAA Championships – three relays (200-medley relay, 200-free relay, and 400-free relay) and one individual (Sartori 200-fly).

The Tiger women conclude the 2025-26 campaign with a 9-1 dual meet record, a top-five finish at the SEC Championships, and now a 21st-place finish in the NCAA Championships.

The men will get their shot at the NCAA Championships on March 25-28, which will also be held at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta. A total of nine Tigers will make the trip. Jere Hribar, Carson Paul, Volodymyr Lisovets, Nikola Simic, and Jacob Pishko, who recently got called up after being an alternate, are the five individual qualifiers. Additionally, four Tiger relays also qualified. 

BEACH VOLLEYBALL

 The No. 12 LSU Beach Volleyball team went 2-2 at the Death Volley Invitational in Baton Rouge, La., defeating Boise State and No. 10 Arizona State.

LSU 4, BSU 1

  1. Julia Sprecher/ Kenzey McGatlin (LSU) def. Alden Allyson/ Serena Van Der Made (BSU) 21-18, 21-16
  2. Tatum Finlason/ Kenzey McGatlin (LSU) def. Ava Anderson/ Addison Wolden (BSU) 22-20, 21-12
  3. Avery Allen/ Keira Demirjian (BSU) def. Camryn Chatellier/ Aubrey O’Gorman (LSU) 21-19, 7-10 *LSU had to medically forfeit*
  4. Ryan Lambert/ Zayna Meyer (LSU) def. Addison Moss/ Elli Wolthius (BSU) 20-22, 21-14, 15-12
  5. Kate Baker/ Emily Hellmuth (LSU) def. Charlee Elenna/ Luna Ingaramo (BSU) 21-19, 26-24

LSU 3, ASU 2

  1. Samaya Morin/ Ava Kirunchuk (ASU) def. Julia Sprecher/ Kenzey McGatlin (LSU) 21-14, 21-19
  2. Tatum Finlason/ Skylar Martin (LSU) def. Daniella Kensinger/ Olivia McElroy (ASU) 19-21, 21-14, 15-12
  3. Zoe Taylor/ Arden Besecker (ASU) def. Aubrey O’Gorman (LSU) 21-17, 21-18
  4. Zayna Meyer/ Bella Lagemann (LSU) def. McKenna Flaherty/ Kristin Gilmour (ASU) 21-18, 21-18
  5. Emily Hellmuth/ Kate Banger (LSU) def. Reagan Hope/ Kendall Whitmarsh (ASU) 21-18, 21-12

Up Next

The Sandy Tigs are back on the road next weekend for the Texas Invitational in Austin, Texas.

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