HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Freshman Leonie Schuknecht helped secure two points for Louisiana Tech, but that was all the Lady Techsters could amass in a 4-2 loss to UAB on Saturday in a neutral site conference match at the USM Tennis Courts.
 
For the third straight match and seven of their last nine, LA Tech (6-7, 1-2 C-USA) got off to a 1-0 start by winning the doubles point.  However, UAB (9-6, 1-1 C-USA) had the upper hand in singles by winning in straight sets on courts two-five to reach four points.
 
"We played great doubles today and I am really happy with how that has been so solid for us this year," said head coach Amanda Stone.  "Overall, it was a tough battle against a strong conference team."
 
Playing in their third match together, Alexia Romero and Claudia Oravcova made it a perfect 3-0 as a tandem, dominating Annalisa Smith and Megan Bertrands by a score of 6-1 on court three.  The duo has surrendered only five games in the three consecutive wins. 
 
After the Blazers got a 6-4 win on court two, the doubles point came down to court one.  Schuknecht and Ilana Tetruashvili went into their first tiebreaker together and pulled out the 7-6 (7) victory.  This pairing has now won seven of their last eight matches. 
 
The Blazers got off to a hot start in singles though, taking a 2-1 lead after getting victories from Adela Wasserbauerova and Megan Bertrands at the No. 2 and No. 5 positions, respectively. 
 
But, Schuknecht evened things up at 2-all with a strong 6-3, 6-4 win versus Jana Hecking.  The German native continues to hold down that top singles position, tallying her fifth victory of the spring at No. 1.
 
Meanwhile, Tetruashvili and Romero were in close battles with their opponents on courts three and four.  Both lost nailbiting first sets by scores of 7-5 and 7-6, and were not able to force a third set. 
 
"Leonie had a big win against a really good player," said Stone.  "We need to make a few adjustments for tomorrow in some of our strategies and get a bit sharper on our execution.  I think we will respond well and bring another tough fight tomorrow."
 
LA Tech returns to action on Sunday to face Southern Miss.  First serve is set for 11 a.m. at the USM Tennis Courts.
 
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