RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech Tennis team gets its spring season underway this weekend with three matches at the Hurricane invite in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
 
MATCH INFORMATION
Match One
Saturday, Jan. 13 | 9 a.m. CT | LA Tech vs. Wyoming
Match Two
Saturday, Jan. 13 | approximately 1 p.m. CT | LA Tech at Tulsa (singles)
Sunday, Jan. 14 | 9 a.m. CT | LA Tech at Tulsa (doubles)
Match Three
Sunday, Jan. 14 | 10 a.m. CT | LA Tech vs. Omaha
Location: Michael D. Case Tennis Center (Tulsa, Okla.)
Live Video/Stats: HERE
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH
The Amy Sargeant era begins this weekend as the first-year Bulldog Tennis head coach leads the squad into the 2024 season.  LA Tech returns five Bulldogs off last year's team that won 20 dual matches, reached the CUSA Tournament semifinals for the first time ever, and was ranked as high as No. 64 in the country.
 
LA Tech is led by Olga Bienzobas who was a Second Team All-Conference USA selection in singles and doubles last season.  She posted a 14-7 dual singles record, playing primarily from the No. 2 position, and 7-2 dual doubles mark with teammate Alexia Romero.  The duo became the first players in program history to participate in the ITA All-American Championships.
 
Romero enters her fifth year with the program, having totaled 78 career dual singles/doubles victories.  Her 40 doubles wins is currently tied for the eighth most in school history.
 
Other senior returners include Tiffani Nash and Valentina Vasquez.  Nash registered a 13-6 dual singles record last season, playing primarily at the No. 4 position.  Meanwhile, Vasquez is set for an increased role in the lineup after going 4-2 in singles and 7-6 in doubles a season ago.
 
The lone junior is Ana Rodrigues who collected a combined 23 victories last season.  And set to make her collegiate debut is freshman Zoie Epps who joined the team earlier this month as a four-star recruit.
 
ABOUT WYOMING
Wyoming is coming off a year where they won 16 matches, including a 9-1 record in league play, in route to claiming its first ever Mountain West regular title.  They finished the season ranked No. 5 in the ITA Mountain Region and were ranked as high as No. 67 in the country.  
 
The Cowgirls return three-time All-Mountain West honoree Sophie Zehender.  She has been named to both the MWC singles and doubles team in each of the past three seasons. 
 
This will mark the sixth straight season the Bulldogs and Cowgirls meet at the Hurricane Invite.  Wyoming leads the all-time series, 3-2, but LA Tech has won the last two matchups, including a 6-1 victory last season.
 
ABOUT TULSA
Tulsa went 14-11 last season, finishing the year ranked No. 72 in the country as well as a semifinal appearance in the American Athletic Conference.
 
The Hurricane returns five players from last season, including the duo of Maria Berlanga Bandera and Lily Hutchings, who went 13-7 together in the dual match season and were ranked No. 41 in the nation at the end of the year.

Joining them is Oleksandra Nahurska, who returns for her second season at Tulsa after compiling 15 total wins for the Hurricane last year.  She cracked the final fall ITA singles rankings, coming in at No. 125.
 
Tulsa leads the all-time series over LA Tech, 6-0.  This will mark the sixth straight season the two teams meet on the court.  
 
ABOUT OMAHA
Omaha went 8-15 overall last season, tying for fourth in the Summit League with a 4-3 league mark.  They have been selected sixth in the 2024 Summit League preseason poll.
 
Zoe Adkins was named as a Summit League Preseason Player to Watch.  She was named an All-Summit League Honorable Mention selection last season after recording 10 singles and six doubles wins.
 
The two programs met for the first time ever last season with LA Tech winning, 7-0.
 
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