MIAMI – Louisiana Tech came into Saturday's Conference USA Women's Tennis Championship semifinals as a heavy underdog. 
 
Their task was going up against top-seeded FIU who was ranked 27th in the country, on a 16-match winning streak, and playing on its home courts where they were a perfect 13-0.
 
Even so, the Bulldogs pushed the Panthers to the limit in a three-hour marathon in the blistering heat, falling 1-4 at the Pay Cargo Tennis Complex.
 
The fight was on display early on for LA Tech (15-9) as the Bulldogs found themselves down in doubles on all three courts.  While FIU (18-2) pulled away on court one, LA Tech battled back on courts two and three. 
 
Olga Bienzobas and Ana Rodrigues were down 1-4 but won three of the next four games to make it 4-5 at the No. 2 spot.  Meanwhile the undefeated pairing of Alexia Romero and Zoie Epps were down 2-3 but won three of the next four games as well to go up 5-4 at No. 3.  The Panthers would ultimately squeak out the doubles point on court two.
 
The fight continued in singles as five of the six lines were tight in the first set.  The Panthers had a slight edge on five courts, winning by set scores of 7-5, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, and 6-1. 
 
The one court FIU did not find any success was at the No. 6 position where fifth-year senior Alexia Romero steamrolled her opponent Petja Drame by a score of 6-2, 6-0 for her 54th career dual singles victory.
 
Despite the Panthers picking in straight-set wins on courts two and three to give them a 3-1 lead in the team match, the momentum was shifting in favor of LA Tech.  Epps battled back to split sets with a 6-3 win in the second set on court five.  Her court neighbor Tiffani Nash was grinding to force a third set as well, tied at 5-5 in the second.
 
Then there was Bienzobas who was matching Ekaterina Khairutdinova, who came into the day with only one loss all spring, point-for-point at No. 1.  Bienzobas was close to splitting sets as well, up 5-3, but the senior ended up fall 5-7.   
 
QUOTABLES
Head coach Amy Sargeant
 
"The objective today was to dig deep and play from a place we had not done before.  Ultimately, we just ran out of time, but we gave ourselves chances to split sets on two singles courts while up on two others."
 
"I am so, so proud of how much this team has grown throughout this season and how they have developed into strong, independent women.  This year will be one for the memory books and we will return bigger and better next year."
 
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