Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Julian Forde’s 14h fastest 60m time in the nation highlighted a strong finish by the Louisiana Tech track and field teams at the Robert Platt Invitational at Yeoman Fieldhouse on Saturday.
Forde ran a 6.62 in the finals of the 60m to not only take home the gold but also moved into the top time in Conference USA. His time came just two hours after finishing with a 6.65 in the semis to qualify with the fastest time heading into the finals.
“I am truly proud of how we competed this weekend,” said Tech Director of Track and Field Brian Johnson. “We are starting to get into championship shape with 30 days to go. We had numerous people step up over the last two days.”
Tonie-Ann Forbes has been one of the best in the 60-meter hurdles and didn’t disappoint. She improved her mark with an 8.29 for a bronze and move into No. 39 on the NCAA performance list.
Eight other Bulldogs finished in the top 10 in their respective event, with three more setting personal best.
Mateo Smith improved his conference-leading mark in the long jump with his third attempt, netting him a distance of 23’8.75”.
Shatalya Dorsett improved her 60m time by 0.01 seconds with a 7.49 to take sixth. Rodney Heath Jr. was the other Bulldog inside the top 10 in the event, running a 6.75 for fifth. Nike Praetzel finished fifth in the 60m hurdles by running an 8.64.
Reigning CUSA Freshman of the Week, Valentino Rudolph continues to have a strong rookie campaign for the Bulldogs. Rudolph finished third in a field of 80 athletes with a time of 21.40. For the women, Saran Kouyate set a new season-best time of 24.57 to finish 10thg out of 100 runners.
The men’s and women’s 4×400 teams finished third. The women’s team of Jamara Patterson, Osaretin Usenbor, Nia Wiley, and Kouyate was the fastest college team at the meet, finishing behind Athletics TX by only two seconds.
Louisiana Tech will travel to Fayetteville, Ark. for the Tyson Invitational from Feb. 9-10 at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
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Tech Tennis
The Louisiana Tech Tennis team did not drop a single set on Sunday, claiming a pair of shutout victories in defeating Louisiana Christian, 4-0, and Southern Arkansas, 5-0, in a home doubleheader at the LA Tech Tennis Complex.
While LA Tech (4-2) was in complete control of almost every match against LCU (0-1) and SAU (1-1), the Bulldogs ended up getting their points from the exact same lines in both doubles and singles.
Starting off the day was winning the doubles point versus the Wildcats with wins of 6-1 and 6-0 on courts two and three, respectively. Collecting those victories were the tandems of Alexia Romero/Olga Bienzobas and Zoie Epps/Tiffani Nash.
In singles, Epps and Romero garnered the second and third points for LA Tech by winning all 12 games in their matches. Epps defeated Elizaveta Mikhailova 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5 while Romero overpowered Chloe Batterton 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6.
The clincher was provided by Bienzobas who outdueled Alexandra Cedeno 6-1, 6-3 at the No. 1 position. Play was stopped while Ana Rodrigues, Valentina Vasquez, and Nash were all up a set in their respectively matches.
The second match of the day against the Muleriders played out almost the exact same way, except this dual was played under the lights. Romero/Bienzobas and Epps/Nash grabbed the opening doubles point for the Bulldogs, each winning 6-1.
It was again the lower part of the lineup in singles picking up points as Epps cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Lisa Lochter while Romero raced to a 6-1, 6-2 win against Roksana Kokocha. And then clinching point again was provided by Bienzobas at the top spot, taking a 6-1, 6-4 win versus Greta Wallin.
Tacking on another point was Nash who closed out her match a mere seconds later at the No. 4 spot, defeating Amelie Gindle by a score of 6-2, 6-2. Both Rodrigues and Nash were up a set and a point or two away from winning before play was stopped.
LA Tech is back home on Wednesday, Jan. 31 to face LSU-Alexandria. First serve is set for 3 p.m. CT at the LA Tech Tennis Complex.
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Bowling
Louisiana Tech went 2-1 and shot a nearly perfect game on the final day of the Prairie View Invitational at the International Training and Research Center. The fourth-ranked Bulldogs moved up one spot and finished fifth in the tournament with 10 of the top 11 teams in the country.
“The team went through a lot of ups and downs this weekend,” said head coach Matt Nantais. “We started on a high note by going 4-1 for the day in a very strong field. Saturday proved that we still have a lot of work to do to get everyone on the same page as we are gearing up for the postseason.
“We finished with two great wins, and I’m proud that even after struggling, the girls never gave up. We have more to work on for the next tournament.”
LA Tech had a solid start to the day, but No. 5 North Carolina A&T would come out with a 995-948 win. Kylee Trexler rolled a 213 to finish with a 1,162 for a top-30 finish. Allie Leiendecker finished 26th with a 1,192 after finishing with a 203. Patricia Rosales ended the tournament in the plus after finishing with a six-game total of 1,241 to finish 13thg.
The Bulldogs finished sixth after qualifying and set up a rematch with the Aggies. This time, Tech pulled out a 4-3 win.
Tech found their mark early against No. 11 Sam Houston and dominated the Bearkats 4-1. With the match tied 1-1, the Bulldogs were back on the lane they shot 258 in game one. Tech carried that momentum and rolled the front-11 before a 10-pin ended the Bulldog run at perfection. They would close the match with 236-193 and 224-214 wins.
Louisiana Tech will travel to Missouri for the Columbia 300 Saints Invite hosted by Maryville University.
