Courtesy of LA Tech Athletics
TENNIS
Louisiana Tech continues its four-match home stand today when the Bulldogs host rival ULM at the LA Tech Tennis Complex at noon.
LA Tech (7-2) won its sixth straight match in dramatic fashion, defeating North Texas at home by a final score of 4-3. The doubles point ended up being the decider for the Bulldogs as the two squads split the six singles courts.
The ‘Dogs are a combined 30-16 in dual singles matches this spring. Sophomore Zoie Epps continues to pace the team with an 8-1 record while freshman Alice Brook and Maria Tsironi each have six. Brook, playing at the No. 6 position, currently owns the longest winning streak on the team at five matches while Tsironi has won four straight at the No. 3 spot.
It was Ana Rodrigues that provided the clincher in the matchup versus the Mean Green, winning in three sets at the top position. The senior has won three of her last four matches.
In dual doubles, LA Tech is a combined 17-8 having won the doubles point in seven of its nine matches this spring. The pairings of Rodrigues/Epps and Brook/Tsironi each own a record of 6-3. After dropping three of their first four matches, Rodrigues/Epps have reeled off five straight wins at the No. 1 spot.
ULM (2-1), led by third-year head coach Ivone Alvaro, suffered its lone loss of the season at Stephen F. Austin while claiming victories in its two home matches versus Grambling State and most recently a 4-0 win against Alcorn State this past Friday.
The Warhawks are a combined 7-7 in dual singles this spring, owning 2-1 records at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions by Mariam Hatem and Vanja Cado, respectively. Hatem is now in her third season with ULM while Cado is one of three freshmen on the roster.
Meanwhile in dual doubles, ULM is a combined 5-2 with the pairing of Cado and Lucia Jorrin Fernandez providing two of those victories.
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TRACK AND FIELD
The Louisiana Tech men’s and women’s track and field programs closed out the Tyson Invitational on Saturday on several high notes going into Conference USA competition.
The weekend’s highlight for the Bulldogs features the men’s 4×400-meter relay group in the order of Tim Rummelhagen, Sabastian Bradley-Reed, Laeden Tucker and Valentino Rudolph shattering a new men’s indoor program record.
The quartet ran a time of 3:10.32 on Saturday to break a record that had stood for 16 years, when Albert Fullwood, Mike Coleman, Wade McGaha and Demonte Willis ran a time of 3:12.07 during the 2009 season.
Oscar Smith advanced to the 60-meter hurdles finals for the third time in as many meets he has competed in this indoor season. He ran a time of 7.85 in both the prelims and the semifinal rounds to advance to the finals of the meet’s invitational for the event.
Cobe Johnson had himself a stellar day in the triple jump and the long jump, setting new personal marks in both events at 14.72 meters (TJ) and 7.26 meters (LJ). DeMarko Lawler Jr. also set a new personal best in the triple jump at 14.87 meters to finish fifth in the event.
Kimeone McLeod saw a runner-up finish in the women’s 60-meter hurdles, coming in with a time of 8.61. Jamara Patterson secured a top-five finish in the 400 after running an indoor personal best of 54.50 on Friday. Tia Reder also set an indoor best in the triple jump at 12.13 meters.
Donald Lamp PR’d at 19.13 meters in the weight throw to finish in the top 15 among 27 competitors. Rummelhagen’s personal record of 47.76 was good enough to finish among the top 10 in the 400.
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BOWLING
The 11th-ranked Louisiana Tech bowling team moved up one spot to finish 10th at the Mid-Winter Invitational at the Hijinx Family Entertainment Center on Sunday.
“The team continues to find success on the lanes, showing strong performances against top-tier competition,” said head coach Matt Nantais. “While there are still moments where adjustments need to be made for better shot-making, the overall performance has been impressive.
“This past weekend, the team competed in a highly competitive field featuring most of the top 10 teams in the nation. Finishing with an 8-4 record against such elite competition is a strong accomplishment and a testament to the team’s hard work and dedication.
“With a week off, the team will now shift focus to preparing for its upcoming home event in Fort Worth. With only two more regular-season events remaining, followed by the conference championship, the team is determined to continue its strong play in pursuit of a regional bid this year.”
The Bulldogs (64-37) started the best-of-seven bracket play against No. 17 UAB. LA Tech made quick work of the Blazers with a 4-0 sweep. The ‘Dogs started with a 196-184 game-one win to take the early advantage. They would follow that up with two straight games in the 200s with a 200 and 222, winning both games by over 25 pins. Tech would roll a 185 in the final game, but UAB could only shoot a 168.
Louisiana Tech would roll their highest five-game set against No. 8 Sam Houston and win 4-1 to move into the 9-10 place match. The Bulldogs shot over 210 in each of their five games, winning the first three by over 40 pins. A clean 226 in game one, the front four and back five for a 242 in game two, and another clean game in a 233 in the third gave Tech a 3-0 lead. The Bearkats would take the fourth 237-213 before Tech closed out the set with a 221-214 win in game five.
That set up a rematch with No. 14 Wisconsin-Whitewater, a team Tech lost to on the opening day 1,113-1,012. The Bulldogs got behind 2-0 after four opens in the first two games. However, LA Tech rebounded with a 215 and 217 in the next two to even it up. The Warhawks would take game five, and the ‘Dogs would force a game seven after winning the sixth. Unfortunately, Tech only managed one strike in the final game, with UWW taking the set 4-3.
