RUSTON – The 2026 spring season gets underway for Louisiana Tech this weekend as the Bulldogs will face Wyoming, Tulsa, and Southeast Missouri as part of the Hurricane Invite in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
 
MATCH INFORMATION
Match One
LA Tech vs. Wyoming | Saturday, Jan. 17 | 9 a.m. CT
Match Two
LA Tech at Tulsa (singles) | Saturday, Jan. 17 | approximately 1 p.m. CT
LA Tech at Tulsa (doubles) | Sunday, Jan. 18 | 9 a.m. CT
Match Three
LA Tech vs. SEMO | Sunday, Jan. 18 | approximately 10 a.m. CT
 
Location: Michael D. Case Tennis Center (Tulsa, Okla.)
Live Stream: LATechSports.com/TennisStream
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (0-0)
Head coach Amy Sargeant enters her third season at the helm.  The reigning CUSA Coach of the Year led the Bulldogs to a 19-win season a year ago, as well as the program's first ever appearance in the CUSA Championship match.
 
LA Tech returns six of its seven players off last year's team, led by junior Zoie Epps who was a First Team All-CUSA selection in singles and doubles, setting the single-season program record for most dual victories in both.  She had an intense fall season, participating in the ITA All-American Championships as well as the ITA Conference Masters Championships. 
 
The Bulldogs also return senior Mio Kozaki and junior Nina Skoric who teamed up to be Second Team All-CUSA honorees in doubles.  There is also a trio of sophomores – June Vigneron, Alice Brook, and Maria Tsironi – who look to build off strong freshman campaigns.  Vigneron, a 2025 CUSA All-Freshman selection, had a stellar fall season where she went a combined 11-3 in singles and doubles.
 
LA Tech welcomes in two newcomers in Diana Starodubtseva and Isabella Walker.  Starodubtseva is a senior transfer who was a Second Team All-CAA selection at Hampton last season after registering a 20-5 singles record.  Walker, the lone freshman on the team, was one of the top juniors in her home country of England.
 
ABOUT WYOMING (1-1)
Wyoming got its spring season underway on Thursday, splitting its two matches with a shutout loss to No. 6-ranked Oklahoma and a 4-3 marathon victory over Tarleton State. 
 
The Cowgirls, who are led by 15th-year head coach Dean Clower, return a trio of All-Mountain West selections from 2025 including Violetta Borodina, Anastasiia Kochelaevskaia, and Dilnaz Mashabeyeva.  It was freshman Silver Bijlsma who clinched the win over the Texans, winning in three sets.
 
This will be the seventh straight season that LA Tech and Wyoming face off in the Hurricane Invite.  The Cowgirls won the first three meetings, but the Bulldogs have claimed the last four including a 6-1 victory last season.
 
ABOUT TULSA (0-0)
Tulsa is coming off a 19-win season and its 15th postseason appearance, receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.  The Golden Hurricane had a veteran squad, led by four seniors including the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year in Maria Berlanga. This season, Tulsa has a very young roster with six underclassmen, including four freshmen. 
 
LA Tech is still in search for its first win ever over Tulsa, having lost all eight meetings.  The teams first met in 1995 and have faced off each of the last seven seasons as part of the Hurricane Invite.  LA Tech fell, 6-1, to Tulsa last season as part of the event.
 
ABOUT SOUTHEAST MISSOURI (0-0)
SEMO, led by second-year head coach Steven Brooks. is coming off a 15-win season and an Ohio Valley Conference regular season title.  The Redhawks return six of the seven players, but the did lose First Team All-OVC selection Lera Valeeva to graduation.
 
LA Tech trails in the all-time series against SEMO, 2-3.  The Bulldogs have won two of the last three, including a 4-0 shutout victory last season in a neutral site match in Paducah, Kentucky.
 
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