RUSTON – The no. 17 Louisiana Tech bowling team hits the road for the first of three straight tournaments this weekend, traveling to Houston for Sam Houston State's Trak Kat Klash.
 
The 5^th-ranked Bearkats will host the tournament at Emerald Lanes in Houston, Texas. Fifteen other programs join the Lady Techsters at the competition this weekend, including ten other programs that are either ranked or receiving votes. Six of the top-ten teams in the nation will be competing.
 
no. 2 McKendree, no. 3 Stephen F. Austin, no. 4 Nebraska,  no. 6 Arkansas State, no. 8 North Carolina A&T, no. 14 Tulane, no. 20 Duquesne, no. 23 Youngstown State, (RV) Prairie View A&M Alabama State, Jackson State, Southern, Upper Iowa, and Texas Southern round out the 16-team field for the weekend's competition.
 
Tech picked up four wins over ranked teams two weeks ago en route to placing fourth at the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Junior Kaitlyn Eder led the Tech, placing 11th with a weekend average of 201.80
 
The Lady Techsters placed eighth after defeating five ranked opponents at last year's Trak Kat Klash. Tech finished with an overall record of 8-5 on the weekend, led by Kaitlyn Eder's weekend average of 188.60. Lindsay Manning posted strong results on the weekend as well, placing inside the top-50 with a 176.20 average.
 
Competition at this season's Track Kat Klash begins Friday morning at 9:55 a.m. with five sets of five-game Baker matches, followed by five traditional matches that begin at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. Combined results from Friday and Saturday will determine the seeding for Sunday's bracket-play championship tournament, in which each team will play three rounds of best-of-seven Baker matches, beginning at 8:20 a.m.
 
To watch the Lady Techsters in action this weekend and throughout the season, subscribe to the LA Tech Bowling channel on YouTube and follow @LATechBowl on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for updates, results and breaking news.