Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Bowling
Louisiana Tech started bracket play in eight, but the seventh-ranked Bulldogs quickly moved into the five-six game at the Columbia 300 Music City Classic at the Smyrna Bowling Center on Sunday.
LA Tech went 3-0 to move up three spots to fifth in the 33-team field.
“What a great weekend,” said head coach Matt Nantais. “We had a few matches that didn’t go out way, but to finish how we did today shows we are ready for the postseason. We don’t have much time to practice for conference next week but we will be ready.
In the opening round, Tech swept through No. 9 Maryville. The Bulldogs rolled 228 and 219 before a struggle by both teams allowed Tech’s 163 to give them a 3-0 advantage. The Bulldogs would bounce back and take game four 224-193.
Looking to get revenge on No. 4 Vanderbilt, LA Tech shot 1,075 in the five-game set. The Bulldogs took the first two games, 209-166 and 197-172, before dropping a nailbiter, 223-222. Tech continued to roll the ball well with 224 and 222 to take the next two games.
Rolling a 687 to take a 3-0 advantage, LA Tech looked to be on their way to another sweep. No. 10 Sam Houston wouldn’t go down quietly, winning games four and five. The Bulldogs closed out the match with a 223-222 win, claiming the match 4-2.
Louisiana Tech starts postseason play with the CUSA Championships at Colonial Lanes in Harahan, La., starting on March 22. All nine CUSA programs are ranked in the top 17, including the top four and six of the top 10.
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Track and Field
The Louisiana Tech track and field teams opened the season at home by hosting the Jim Mize Invitational at the Jim Mize Track and Track & Field Complex.
Competing at home, the Bulldogs had nearly every athlete perform during the two-day meet. The Bulldogs finished with 15 first-place finishes and nine PRs.
Fresh off a silver medal in the CUSA Indoor Championships, Rodney Heath Jr. looks to qualify for the NCAA Championships again in the 100m. Heath would open the season with a 10.38, nearly matching his time in the championships.
Tonie-Ann Forbes made her outdoor debut after a record-setting indoor season for the freshman. The longer distance didn’t matter, as she ran a 13.35 in the 100m hurdles.
After setting the indoor program record, A’reil Williams nearly set the outdoor mark in her first event. With a height of 5’875 “, Williams would match the fifth-highest mark in program history. She would also add a jump of 19’10.25” in the long jump.
Louisiana Tech will travel south to LSU for the Battle on the Bayou on Saturday, March 23, at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium.
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Tennis
Louisiana Tech could not complete the comeback on Saturday afternoon, falling to Jacksonville State by a score of 5-2 at the LA Tech Tennis Complex.
Due to an injury to fifth-year senior Alexia Romero, LA Tech (10-6, 2-1 CUSA) was forced to shuffle its doubles lineup. Jax State (6-7, 1-1 CUSA) took advantage, winning on courts two and three to claim the opening point of the match.
The Gamecocks carried that momentum into singles, getting straight-set wins at the No. 2 and No. 6 positions to go up, 3-0.
The Bulldogs started to mount a comeback after that. Senior Olga Bienzobas got it started, winning her 14th straight singles match at the No. 1 position. The native of Spain had to battle though to defeat Polina Ramenskaja.
Bienzobas was at 5-all in the first set but won two consecutive games to claim it, 7-5. She then settled in, winning the second set handily, 6-1 to register her team-leading 15th victory.
Tiffani Nash then cut LA Tech’s deficit down to 2-3, outlasting Ana Syrova at the No. 4 position with a 6-4, 6-4 victory, her 10th of the spring season.
The comeback effort ended after that though as Jax State picked up two more points on courts three and five.
LA Tech will be back in action in two weeks in another conference matchup at Sam Houston on Saturday, March 30. First serve is set for 1 p.m. CT.
