MIAMI – It was quality tennis up and down the lineup for Louisiana Tech as the Bulldogs blanked WKU, 4-0, in the Conference USA Women's Tennis Championship quarterfinals on a sunny Friday afternoon at the Pay Cargo Tennis Complex.
 
LA Tech (15-8) grabbed the opening doubles point and then stacked singles points from the bottom of the lineup on courts four, five, and six, sending the Bulldogs into the semifinals against top-seeded FIU who advanced earlier in the day on its home courts with a shutout win of their own.
 
A slight shift in the doubles lines paid off for the Bulldogs.  One shift that did not happen was the duo of Alexia Romero and Zoie Epps at the No. 3 position.  This doubles tandem came together earlier this month and have not lost, and that included against the Hilltoppers as they collected the first win of the day with a decisive 6-2 victory.
 
WKU (14-11) countered with a doubles win of its own though on court one, making court two the deciding point.  Ana Rodrigues and Olga Bienzobas, who switched from the No. 1 to the No. 2 spot, were up 5-2 in the match but the Hilltoppers claimed back-to-back games to make it 5-4. 
 
With Bienzobas serving, the Bulldogs were down love-30 in the game but reeled off four straight points to take it 6-4 and get on the scoreboard first with the doubles point.
 
Neither team pulled away from the other after the first couple of changeovers in singles.  The one exception was Tiffani Nash who got up 5-2 before claiming the first set 6-3.  The senior kept her foot on the gas, not surrendering a single game in the second set to make it 2-0 in favor of LA Tech with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Sayda Hernandez on court four.
 
Zoie Epps and her opponent Sunskrithi Damera were exchanging two games at a time it seemed.  Epps got up 4-1 before Damera rallied to make it 4-3.  However, the freshman Bulldog pulled off the first set 6-3 and did it in the same manner in the second set, winning 6-3, 6-3 on court five to give LA Tech its third point of the match.
 
In the meantime, the rest of the Bulldogs were picking up momentum.  On court three, Valentina Vasquez was tied at 2-2 in the third set with her opponent starting to cramp.  On court four, Rodrigues forced a third set after winning the second, 6-4, and was up 3-0. 
 
Then on court one, Bienzobas was battling back.  The senior lost the first set 2-6 and was down 3-5 in the second but won four straight games, including fighting off a match point, to take it 7-5 and force a third set where she was at 2-2.
 
None of these three matches would finish though as Romero provided the clinching point on court six with a hard-fought 7-5, 6-4 victory against Mariana Zegada.  This was career dual singles win No. 53 for the fifth-year senior.  Earlier she had claimed career dual doubles win No. 53, which set a new program record.
 
QUOTABLES
Head coach Amy Sargeant
 
"We woke up ready to go today.  The team started off with a resilient and tough doubles point, playing the way we need to play which is fearless and committed.  In singles, were up on four sets and split on two.  It was all about the energy and momentum we created up and down the line.  I was super proud of the fight and the heart from this team.  I am excited to see the same tomorrow.  Let's finish on empty."
 
NOTABLES

• With the win, LA Tech improved to 15-8 on the season.  The 15 victories are tied for the sixth most in a single season in program history.  It is the sixth time in the last 12 seasons that LA Tech has won 15+ matches.
• LA Tech now leads the all-time series over WKU, 9-7.  The Bulldogs have won two in a row over the Hilltoppers and have now shutout WKU on three occasions.
• LA Tech advanced to the CUSA Tournament semifinals for the second time in program history (other time being last season). 
• Alexia Romero and Zoie Epps improved to 4-0 in dual doubles as a tandem. 
• Alexia Romero won her 53rd career dual doubles match, setting a new program record.  She has a team-best 13-7 doubles record this season. 
• Alexia Romero improved to 15-3 in dual singles, winning her 53rd career match which is tied for the second most in program history.  She is 24-6 all-time playing at the No. 6 position.
• Tiffani Nash improved to 15-5 in dual singles.  The senior has won six of her last seven matches.
• Zoie Epps improved to 11-9 in dual singles.  The freshman has won six of her last eight matches.
• LA Tech has three players with 15+ dual singles wins this spring for just the second time in program history.

UP NEXT
LA Tech will take on No. 1 seed FIU on the home courts of the Panthers on Saturday.  First serve is set for 10 a.m. CT at the Pay Cargo Tennis Complex.
 
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