Box Score LYNCHBURG, Va. – No. 3 seed Louisiana Tech continued its strong play into the Conference USA Women's Tennis Championship quarterfinals on Thursday, shutting out No. 6 seed WKU by a final score of 4-0 at the Liberty Tennis Complex.
 
LA Tech (18-8) picked up the opening doubles point and then grabbed singles wins on courts two, four, and six to defeat WKU (15-10) and advance to the semifinals for the third consecutive season.
 
Doubles has been a strong suit for the Bulldogs all regular season and that was no different in the postseason.  The LA Tech duo of Mio Kozaki and Nina Skoric were up 3-2 before rattling off three straight games to take it, 6-2, over Sunskrithi Damera and Elizabeth Sobieski on court three.
 
The Bulldog tandem of Ana Rodrigues and Zoie Epps pulled away as well.  After dropping the opening game on a deciding deuce point, the pairing won six of the next seven games to clinch the opening point with a 6-2 victory versus Sofia Blanco and Rachel Hermanova.  In doing so, the duo set a new single-season program record in the process with their 18th dual doubles win.
 
With a 1-0 lead, LA Tech raced out to an early lead in singles, claiming the first set on four courts by scores of 6-1, 6-1, 6-1, and 6-0.  The Lady Toppers had a couple of lopsided first sets as well, going up 6-2 and 6-0 on courts three and five, respectively.
 
Things tightened up on almost all of the matches except for Kozaki who powered to her sixth straight singles win, claiming a 6-1, 6-2 victory against Damera at No. 4 to put the 'Dogs up, 2-0. 
 
Following Skoric and Maria Tsorini forcing a third set on their two courts, Epps was able to rebound from a dropped second set to give LA Tech a 3-0 advantage, defeating Blanco 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 at No. 2 for her 24th singles win of the spring. 
 
The clinching point would come from the far No. 6 court where June Vigneron also regrouped following a dropped second set to be victorious 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 over Sobieski.   
 
QUOTABLES
Head coach Amy Sargeant
 
"I am super proud of our team today.  It was our first-round match which comes with a lot of nerves and adversity, especially being such a young team.  But we got the doubles point, letting the nerves out.  We played aggressive tennis.  Then in singles, we got up four sets early which set the tone.  Splitting sets on three and five gave us the momentum we needed for those to finish out on two, four, and six.  Overall, I felt like all players were on the same page.  They were gritty, fought hard, and got to work.  I am looking forward to how we respond tomorrow.  Hopefully, we can continue our journey."
 
NOTABLES

• With the win, LA Tech now leads the all-time series versus WKU, 9-7.  The Bulldogs have won three straight over the Lady Toppers, defeating them in the CUSA Tournament in back-to-back seasons. 
• LA Tech advanced to the CUSA Tournament semifinals for the third consecutive season.
• The Bulldogs recorded their 18th victory of the spring, tied for the third most in program history.
• LA Tech extended its winning streak to six matches.  The 'Dogs also pitched their ninth shutout of the spring.
• LA Tech won the doubles point for the 20th time this spring.  The Bulldogs are now 18-2 when winning the doubles point.
• Zoie Epps and Ana Rodrigues teamed up to win their ninth straight doubles match, tied for the second longest streak in the last 15 years.  It was their 18th doubles win of the spring, which set a new single-season program record.
• Ana Rodrigues claimed her 53rd career dual doubles win, tying for the most in program history.
• Nina Skoric and Mio Kozaki teamed up for their 12th victory of the spring
• Zoie Epps won her 24th dual singles match, improving to 24-2 on the spring and 36-4 overall this season.  The sophomore has won 13 straight, tied for the second longest streak in the last 15 years.
• Mio Kozaki won her sixth consecutive dual singles match, improving to 9-5 on the spring.  She has not surrendered more than three games in any of the six matches.
• June Vigneron provided the clinching point for the third time this spring.  The freshman improved to 7-2

UP NEXT
No. 3 seed LA Tech will battle No. 2 seed Middle Tennessee on Friday, April 18 in the semifinals at the Liberty Tennis Complex.  First serve is set for 9 a.m. CT on ESPN+.
 
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