RUSTON, La. – The No. 9 Louisiana Tech women's bowling team finished in second place at the first-ever LA Tech Invite on Sunday.
 
Sophomore Allie Leiendecker finished second individually in the traditional section of the tournament with an average of 214.25, while senior Kaitlyn Eder finished fourth with an average score of 209.00. Both Lady Techsters earned all-tournament honors for their performances. Sophomore Danielle Jedlicki also finished in the top-20 after ranking 15th with an average score of 188.00.
 
"We did very well," head coach Matt Nantais said. "I'm not sure if the girls knew that they would compete at this level this early. When they came in and started doing what we worked on through this whole offseason, it showed the talent that they have and their abilities."
 
As a team, Louisiana Tech finished the weekend 7-2. The Lady Techsters won all four Baker matches on Friday as LA Tech defeated No. 21 UAB, 873-752, No. 7 Stephen F. Austin, 955-909, No. 19 Tulane, 935-870, and No. 5 Sam Houston State, 982-941.
 
In its their first two traditional matches on Saturday, the Lady Techsters defeated Prairie View A&M, 970-928, and No. 2 Vanderbilt, 1,061-967. LA Tech then played in a scratch match against the Louisiana Tech JV team where the Lady Techsters recorded 986 pinfalls. LA Tech wrapped up Saturday with a 915-881 loss to Vanderbilt. The Lady Techster's averaged an overall pinfall of 191.1 per game to place them in second heading into Sunday's championship bracket.
 
Louisiana Tech defeated Vanderbilt, 4-1 (178-176, 195-201, 227-179, 233-180, 233-185), in the semifinals of the championship bracket on Sunday. LA Tech then faced Sam Houston in the finals, taking the Bearkats to six competitive games. Sam Houston ultimately won the match, 4-2 (191-218, 231-156, 264-190, 169-215, 202-190, 183-181).
 
"They did very well overall," Nantais said. "In the championship, it's a matter of a couple of pins here or there. At this level, every pin counts."
 
Sam Houston State and Louisiana Tech finished the tournament ranked first and second, respectively. Vanderbilt, Stephen F. Austin and Tulane rounded out the top five. Prairie View A&M finished sixth while UAB ended the weekend at seventh.
 
Though the LA Tech JV team was not recorded in the stats, those Lady Techsters also performed well in the tournament.

"Today they came out and beat two teams head-to-head which shows that we have a lot of depth in the team," Nantais said. "I'd also like thank all the fans, faculty, staff and other teams that came out to watch this weekend."
 
Louisiana Tech will next compete in the Sam Houston-hosted Track Kat Klash in Houston, Texas, from Friday, Nov. 20, to Sunday, Nov. 22.
 
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 both Twitter and Facebook for updates, results and breaking news.