RUSTON – No. 65 Louisiana Tech put up a strong fight in its regular season finale but came up short to No. 45 Charlotte in a 4-0 loss in a sunny Monday afternoon at the LA Tech Tennis Complex.
 
It was the first ever match in Ruston pitting two nationally ranked teams against one another.  And both teams came in hot with LA Tech (19-5, 2-1 C-USA) having won 11 in a row and Charlotte (21-5, 2-1 C-USA) having won six, including a shutout win at No. 75 Tulsa this past Friday.
 
It felt like a postseason matchup right from the get go in doubles.  All three courts were neck-and-neck through the first six/seven games with the 49ers holding a 4-3 lead on court one, the Lady Techsters holding a slim 4-3 lead on court two, and court three being tied up at 3-all.
 
Charlotte's No. 1 doubles team of Margaux Maquet and Lucia Quiterio, who has been ranked as high as No. 19 in the country this season, took the match 6-3 against Najah Dawson and Ana Rodrigues. 
 
The duo of Olga Bienzobas and Alexia Romero got the upper hand on court two, downing Kaavya Sawhney/Ruxi Schech (who recently celebrated 60 career wins together and was ranked as high as No. 57 in the nation) by a score of 6-3.
 
The deciding double point came down to court three where Leonie Schuknecht and Ilana Tetruashvili was up against Emma Wilkins and Lucie Petruzelova.  With the match even at three games apiece, Charlotte won three straight games to take it, 6-3, and jump out on top with the early doubles point.
 
All six singles courts began much the same way as singles with almost every court being at 4-3 through the first seven games.  The 49ers were able to close out the first sets at 6-3 on five of the courts and took the first set of the sixth court in a tiebreaker (Quiterio versus Bienzobas).
 
Charlotte, who has been ranked as high as No. 30 in the country this season, ended up prevailing in straight sets on courts one, three, and four to take the match.
 
QUOTABLES
Head coach Amanda stone
 
"This was a great match for us to play leading into the Conference USA Tournament.  We were expecting a high-level matchup with both teams being nationally ranked and it was.  I thought our team rose to the occasion, but just came up short.  We played some of the best doubles we have played all season.  It is remarkable how far this team has come since we played Charlotte two years ago.  We are looking forward to the conference tournament this week and keeping this thing going for as long as we can."
 
NEXT UP
LA Tech received a first-round bye after earning the No. 4 seed, its highest finished ever in C-USA.  The Lady Techsters will take on No. 5 Florida Atlantic in the C-USA Tournament Quarterfinals on Friday, April 20.  First serve is set for 1 p.m. CT at the Waranch Tennis Complex in Denton, Texas.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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