RUSTON – There was plenty to celebrate on a sunny Friday afternoon as Louisiana Tech swept a doubleheader, defeating Liberty and Grambling State at the LA Tech Tennis Complex.
 
In the first matchup of the day, LA Tech (15-8, 4-0 CUSA) remained unbeaten in Conference USA play as the Bulldogs outlasted Liberty (10-12, 4-2 CUSA) by a score of 4-2. 
 
The next celebration was the senior ceremony for Ana Rodrigues who is wrapping up her four-year career as the second winningest Bulldog in program history.
 
LA Tech then took on crosstown foe Grambling State (2-13), overpowering the Lady Tigers by a score of 6-0 to claim its 15th victory of the season, a mark the 'Dogs have now reached for the fourth consecutive spring.
 
MATCH ONE
The Bulldogs were able to couple the doubles point with singles wins on courts one, two, and four to win their fourth CUSA match of the season in what was a three-hour marathon.
 
The freshman duo of Alice Brook and Maria Tsironi got down early but won five of the last six games to pull off a 6-3 victory over the LU duo of Anika Lemus and Yoanna Radulova at the No. 2 spot. 
 
Following a 6-3 win of their own by the Lady Flames at No. 3, the opening point would come down to court one.  The duo of Rodrigues and Zoie Epps would hold serve to force a tiebreaker.  The tandem then rattled off seven straight points to win it, 7-6 (0), over Daniella O'Neill and Maria Turchetto.
 
With a 1-0 lead, LA Tech claimed back-to-back straight set victories to make it a 3-0 advantage.  First, Mio Kozaki continued her strong play by cruising to a 6-0, 6-2 victory against Turchetto at the No. 4 position.  Merely seconds later, Rodrigues claimed a 6-3, 6-2 win versus Radulova at the top spot. 
 
The Lady Flames got on the scoreboard with a win in straight sets by Lemus on court five.  However, Epps would provide the clincher on court two in a dramatic way.  Down 4-5 in the first, the sophomore won three straight games to take the first set.  She would do the very same thing in the second set, breaking serve to win it 7-5, 7-5 over Chen.
 
Liberty's Celina Joseph gave the opponent their second point on court six right after the team match was concluded.  The only abandoned court was that at No. 3 where Tsironi withstood two match points to split sets against O'Neill.
 
MATCH TWO
LA Tech made quick work of GSU in the second match of the day, winning 6-0 over the Lady Tigers.  The Bulldogs dropped just 11 total games the entire team match, claiming the doubles point as well as all five singles matches via straight sets.
 
Rodrigues/Epps and Brook/Tsironi cruised to wins of 6-1 and 6-2 on courts one and two, respectively, to give the 'Dogs a 1-0 lead going into singles. 
 
All five Bulldogs won the first set by a score of 6-0.  Tsironi, Kozaki, and Epps went one-two-three as the trio all won by a score of 6-0, 6-1.  June Vigneron provided the fifth point, playing her lone match of the day and winning it 6-0, 6-2 over Takudzwa Mawisire at the No. 5 spot.  Closing out the Friday was Skoric who downed Claire Machise 6-0, 6-3.

QUOTABLES
Head coach Amy Sargeant

"I am super proud of how well our team fought today.  We knew going into the day, it would take a lot of mental discipline and resilience.  Maria and Alice played a very clean and aggressive doubles match on court two, which carried the momentum over to court one.  After holding serve to stay in the match, there was no stopping Ana and Zoie taking the tiebreaker, 7-0.  Winning the doubles point against Liberty gave us confidence to step up early in singles taking four first sets.  I am proud of our team for fighting, staying mentally resilient, and ultimately playing on our terms in tough moments."
 
NOTABLES

• With the win over Liberty, LA Tech now leads the series, 1-0.  Friday's matchup was the first ever meeting between the two programs.
• With the win over Grambling State, LA Tech now leads the all-time series, 56-0.
• LA Tech picked up wins No. 14 and No. 15 on the spring season.  It marks the fourth straight season the Bulldogs have won 15+ matches.
• The Bulldogs improved to 10-1 at home, marking the third time in program history with 10+ home victories.
• LA Tech improved to 4-0 in CUSA play this season.  The Bulldogs are 12-3 against CUSA opponents over the last four seasons.
• LA Tech has now won 17 doubles point this season.  The Bulldogs are 15-2 when winning the doubles point.
• Ana Rodrigues and Zoie Epps teamed up to win their 14th and 15th doubles matches this spring.  The 15 dual doubles wins is tied for the third most in a single season in program history.  The duo has won six straight.
• Ana Rodrigues won her 49th and 50th dual doubles match.  She became just the third Bulldog in program history to reach 50 dual doubles wins (three shy of tying the program record).
• Zoie Epps won her 20th and 21st dual singles match.  She became just the second Bulldog in program history to reach 20 dual singles wins in a single season (one shy of tying the program record).  The sophomore has won 10 straight.
• Mio Kozaki won her fourth straight singles match.  The junior has not surrendered more than three games in any of the four matches.

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