BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Tech Tennis team gave LSU all it could handle on Saturday morning, falling 5-2 at the LSU Tennis Complex.
 
LA Tech (2-2) and LSU (1-0) faced off for the first time since 2006 and it was the home Tigers that grabbed the opening doubles point.  The Bulldogs got off to a tough start, dropping four deciding deuce points in the first nine games combined. 
 
While Tiffani Nash and Zoie Epps won three straight games to go up 4-3 on court three, LSU grabbed wins on courts one and two by scores of 6-0 and 6-2, respectively.
 
It was a similar start in singles as the Tigers grabbed the opening set on all six courts.  LSU ended up clinching the match with straight-set victories on courts two, three, and five, but LA Tech was putting up a battle on the three remaining courts.
 
Nash got up in the second set, but ended up falling 6-1, 7-5 to Anita Sahdiieva.  Meanwhile, Olga Bienzobas and Alexia Romero were forced third set superbreakers.
 
Bienzobas was at 4-all in the first set against 56th-ranked Kinaa Graham, but lost back-to-back deciding deuce points to drop it, 6-4.  She fought back though, winning the second set by the same score, this time claiming the deciding deuce point.  The senior had the upper hand the entire time in the tiebreaker, jumping out to a 5-0 lead and ultimately taking it, 10-4, at the No. 1 position.
 
Romero was also able to force a tiebreaker after taking the second set, 6-4, against Kenna Erickson at the No. 6 spot.  The senior got down, 2-4, but ended up winning seven of the next nine points to go up, 9-6, with three match points.  Erickson fought off all three, but Romero swung together back-to-back points to take it, 11-9.
 
QUOTABLES
Head coach Amy Sargeant
 
"We have had to deal with a lot of adversity this week and to see how the team has overcome those challenges shows their strength and maturity.  I was very pleased with how we competed at all spots and fought right until the last ball was hit.  We will continue to grow and accept each challenge with discipline and commitment to the process."
 
"We are learning to stay committed to playing fearless tennis and disciplined on big points.  I was very proud of Olga and Alexia for finding a way to put points on the board.  Every small win is a big win and step in the right direction for this team."
 
NOTABLES

• With the loss, LA Tech now trails in the all-time series with LSU, 0-8.  This marked the first time ever the Bulldogs took points off the Tigers as they were shutout in all of the previous meetings.
• Olga Bienzobas improved to 3-1 in singles this spring, notching the second-highest ranked singles win in program history and the highest ever in a dual match by defeating 56th-ranked Kinaa Graham.
• Alexia Romero registered her 40th career dual singles victory.

UP NEXT
Next on the schedule is the home opener for LA Tech, a doubleheader against Southern Arkansas and Louisiana Christian on Saturday, Jan. 27 at the LA Tech Tennis Complex.  The first match will start at 11 a.m. while the second match will start at 5 p.m.
 
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