AUBURN, Ala. – Three Bulldogs advanced to the round of 16 as the Louisiana Tech Tennis team put together a strong showing at the ITA Southern Regional Championships, hosted by the Auburn University at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
 
LA Tech strung together 13 victories – 10 singles, three doubles – over the course of three days.  Seven of the Bulldogs began in the qualifying rounds in singles with Zoie Epps, Maria Tsironi, and June Vigneron taking victories to open up the tournament.
 
Both Epps and Tsironi were able to win their second match as well, advancing them to the main draw.  Epps, coming off a 6-2, 6-1 dominant win versus Raquel Alvaro of ULM, had another powerful performance in a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Ariane Monlleo Sanchis of McNeese State.
 
Meanwhile, Tsironi had to get past Natali Outcalt of Auburn, 7-6 (2), 6-4, before taking on Lara van der Merwe of South Alabama.  The freshman would dispose of the Jaguar, 6-1, 6-4. 
 
Ana Rodrigues (got a bye to the main draw) and Epps had strong efforts against seeded opponents.  Rodrigues suffered a 7-5, 6-1 lost to the No. 7 seed from Ole Miss while Epps took the first set, 6-2, before falling in three sets to the No. 4 seed from Auburn.
 
Tsironi had the night cap match on Friday, having to take on Carolina Troiano of Mississippi State.  Down 4-5 in the first set, she ended up reeling off nine straight games to advance with a 7-5, 6-0 win.  She returned to the courts on Saturday, getting the match to 5-all before her opponent, the No. 9 seed Chems Doha Zeghlouli from South Alabama, retired due to injury. 
 
Becoming just the second Bulldog in program history to advance to the round of 16 of the singles main draw at regionals, Tsironi ended up falling to the No. 2 seed from Auburn who is also currently ranked No. 57 in the country. 
 
Rodrigues and Epps tacked on singles wins in the consolation bracket, defeating opponents from Mississippi State and UAB.
 
Meanwhile in doubles, Tsironi teamed up with Alice Brook in doubles, besting the duo of Carina Holguin and Indi Patel of LSU by a score of 8-2.  The tandem of Rodrigues and Epps also advanced to the next round, outlasting Margaret Jaracqewski and Hailey Robyn Troup of Samford, 8-6.
 
While Tsironi/Brook's run ended in the round of 32, Rodrigues/Epps ended up becoming the first in recorded history to make it to the round of 16 with an 8-4 win against Carolina Troiano and Alessia Tagliente of Mississippi State.  They nearly made the elite eight, falling to the No. 7 seed of Ole Miss by a score of 8-6.
 
QUOTABLES
Head coach Amy Sargeant
 
Overall thoughts on regional…
"Overall, this week has been very informative.  We are growing as a team, learning about our game styles, when to press, how to compete on our terms and embrace the best competition in the country."
 
On Ana and Zoie's doubles performance…
"Ana and Zoie are a force to be reckoned with on the doubles court.  They mesh so well together and are able to adjust and adapt to all varieties of play.  The next step for them is to continue to play their game and believe they have all the tools to beat anyone across the net."
 
On Zoie and Maria's singles run out of the qualifying draw…
"The freshman Maria qualified and made the last 16 in her first regional championships.  She has grown immensely over the last four weeks.  Her game is getting bigger and stronger each time she steps on the court and I cannot wait to see what else we can add to her developing and talented game style.  As for Zoie, she fought hard throughout the qualifying rounds and held her own against a great Auburn player.  She is maturing into an all-around dominant player with the heart of a lion."
 
RESULTS
Singles Qualifying Draw
Soha Singh lost to Anoek Pruijmboom (North Alabama) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
Maria Tsironi def. Natali Outcalt (Auburn) 7-6 (2), 6-4
Zoie Epps def. Raquel Alvaro (ULM) 6-2, 6-1
Nina Skoric lost to Natalia Fantini (Tulane) 6-4, 6-1
Mio Kozaki lost to Salome Fluri (McNeese State) 6-1, 6-4
Alice Brook lost to Lena Karlovcan (North Alabama) 7-5, 6-2
June Vigneron def. Kamea Medora (UL-Lafayette) 6-1, 6-2
Maria Tsironi def. Lara van der Merwe (South Alabama) 6-1, 6-4
Zoie Epps def. Ariane Monlleo Sanchis (McNeese State) 6-2, 6-3
June Vigneron lost to Mathilde Delaney (North Alabama) N/A
 
Singles Main Draw
Ana Rodrigues lost to Lucie Petruzelova (Ole Miss) 7-5 6-1
Zoie Epps lost to Merna Refaat (Auburn) 2-6, 6-2, 6-1
Maria Tsironi def. Carolina Troiano (Mississippi State) 7-5, 6-0
Maria Tsironi def. Chems Doha Zeghlouli (South Alabama), 5-5, retired
Maria Tsironi lost to Ava Hrastar (Auburn) 6-1, 6-1
 
Singles Main Draw Consolation
Ana Rodrigues def. Jayna Clemens (Mississippi State) 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (8)
Zoie Epps def. Vanessa Mellynchuk (UAB) 6-4, 7-5
 
Singles Pick-Up Matches
Mio Kozaki lost to Anoek Pruijmboom (North Alabama) 7-6 (4), 6-4
June Vigneron lost to Alexa Martinez (McNeese State) 6-3, 6-3
Nina Skoric def. Polina Ramenskaja (Jacksonville State) 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (8)
Nina Skoric lost to Klara Kajabova (UAB) 6-1, 6-3
Soha Singh lost to Rocio Amoros Navarro (UL-Lafayette) 6-3, 7-6 (4)
Alice Brook lost to Rio Maeda (South Alabama) 6-3, 6-2
 
Doubles Main Draw
Ana Rodrigues/Zoie Epps def. Margaret Jaraczewski/Hailey Robyn Troup (Samford) 8-6
June Vigneron/Nina Skoric lost to Anoek Priujmboom/Ada Karabacak (North Alabama) 8-1
Maria Tsironi/Alice Brook def. Carina Holguin/Indi Patel (LSU) 8-2
Ana Rodrigues/Zoie Epps def. Carolina Troiano/Alessia Tagliente (Mississippi State) 8-4
Maria Tsironi/Alice Brook lost to Klara Milicevic/Sara Nayar (Alabama) 8-3
Ana Rodrigues/Zoie Epps lost to Rachel Krzyzak/Emma Kette (Ole Miss) 8-6
 
UP NEXT
LA Tech will play its final fall tournament on Oct. 25-26 at the UCA Invitational, hosted by the University of Central Arkansas on Conway, Arkansas.
 
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