RUSTON -- All streaks come to an end, and Louisiana Tech's 14-match winning streak did just that on Saturday in a tight 4-3 loss to No. 1-ranked Tyler Junior College at the LA Tech Tennis Complex.
The doubles point ended up being the difference as LA Tech (16-3) and TJC (10-4) split the six singles matches. The Apaches were able to seal the opening point with wins of 6-4 and 6-3 on courts one and two.
LA Tech used its depth though in singles to grab the upperhand.
Ilana Tetruashvili was near flawless in her match against Abigail Wild, winning all 12 games to deliver a 6-0, 6-0 victory at the No. 4 position. Her court neighbor
Tiffani Nash was equally as impressive, downing Yeva Kononovych by a score of 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 5 spot to give the home team a 2-1 advantage.
TJC evened things up at 2-2 in the final match on the backcourts with a straight-sets win on court six. Meanwhile, after LA Tech took the first set across all three top positions, the Apaches took the second sets on all three to force a third set. After
Najah Dawson and Kelly Arends each claimed a 6-1 set on court three, the senior Dawson took control early and ended up giving LA Tech its third point of the day with a 6-1, 1-6, 6-0 win.
However, TJC was able to get come-from-behind victories on courts one and two behind two of the top three singles players in the country in the NJCAA national rankings.
QUOTABLES
Head coach
Amanda Stone
"It was a tough loss today. I felt like we did not show up in the way we needed to on some key lines and that made the difference. All streaks come to an end and this was a great one we were on. We have had some good wins this season, but I still feel like this team has upside. While we have produced wins on every line, we have not started firing as an entire lineup yet. Now is the time and maybe this loss is the push we need. That is certainly the goal this week as we head into the final part of the regular season."
NOTABLES
- Ilana Tetruashvili improved her dual singles record to 15-3, the best on the team. She also extended her winning streak to eight matches, tying a career high from when she did it as a freshman in 2019.
- Ilana Tetruashvili won 6-0, 6-0 in singles for the second time this season and the fifth time in her career.
- Najah Dawson won her 12th dual singles match of the season, improving to 8-1 at the No. 3 position. The senior has won nine of her last 11 matches.
- Tiffani Nash won her third straight dual singles match, improving to 4-1 on the spring season.
- Alexia Romero and Olga Bienzobas improved to 11-3 in dual doubles. All three doubles teams have registered 11+ wins this season.
UP NEXT
LA Tech will return to C-USA action next weekend as they host Southern Miss and UAB at the LA Tech Tennis Complex. They will face the Golden Eagles on Friday, April 1 at 2 p.m. and the Blazers on Sunday, April 3 at 10 a.m.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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