Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Louisiana Tech Women’s Tennis head coach Amy Sargeant was selected as the 2025 Conference USA Coach of the Year in a vote by the league head coaches.
In just her second season at the helm, Sargeant guided a young Bulldog roster made up of just two upperclassmen (one junior and one senior) to a 19-win season, the third most victories in program history.
LA Tech was nearly perfect at home, going 12-1, while also registering multiple winning streaks of at least seven matches. The Bulldogs went a perfect 5-0 against CUSA competition during the regular season, which helped award them their highest-ever seed in the conference tournament (No. 3). LA Tech went on to defeat WKU and Middle Tennessee, advancing to the CUSA championship match for the first time in program history.
Also earning a superlative award was Mio Kozaki who was voted as the CUSA Newcomer of the Year. Kozaki, a transfer from Hampton University, was one of the hottest players on the team by the end of the season, closing out the campaign on a 7-match winning streak to help go 10-5 in dual singles (1-0 at No. 3, 5-0 at No. 4, and 4-5 at No. 5).
The Aichi, Japan native won her last seven matches while not surrendering more than three games in any of them. Those victories came against the likes of Tulane, Kennesaw State, Liberty, and UTEP as well as against WKU and Middle Tennessee in the CUSA Championship. She also went 15-7 in dual doubles, playing primarily at the No. 3 position.
Zoie Epps and Ana Rodrigues earned All-Conference USA honors in singles. They also earned All-CUSA accolades as a doubles pairing, as did the tandem of Kozaki and Nina Skoric.
Epps was named First Team All-CUSA after putting together the greatest season in program history. The Bulldog broke a 43-year-old program record for most dual singles victories, putting together a 25-3 mark while going 2-0 at No. 1, 21-3 at No. 2, and 2-0 at No. 3.
The sophomore was so dominant that in 28 total matches, she lost only six total sets and produced a season-long 14-match winning streak. In non-conference, Epps had marquee wins over Tulsa, Wichita State, Memphis, and Tulane, all of whom were ranked in the ITA Top 75 at one point this season. She also went 7-1 against CUSA foes, including victories over WKU and Middle Tennessee in the league tournament.
Rodrigues was named Second Team All-CUSA, playing at the No. 1 singles spot for her entire senior year. She went 11-7 from the top position, going 3-0 against CUSA opponents during regular season play including a clinching three-setter versus New Mexico State. Her other league wins came against Sam Houston and Liberty.
Rodrigues/Epps, who earned First Team All-CUSA honors as a doubles team, were a staple at the No. 1 position, teaming up to go 20-7 which set a new program record for most doubles wins in a single season.
The duo closed out the season on an 11-match winning streak, the second longest in the last 15 years at LA Tech. During the streak, Rodrigues/Epps had seven wins over CUSA foes – four during the regular season against Sam Houston, Kennesaw State, Liberty, UTEP – as well as a 3-0 mark in the CUSA Championship versus WKU, Middle Tennessee, and FIU. The tandem also had marquee non-conference wins over Memphis and Tulane.
Kozaki/Skoric, a Second Team All-CUSA selection, teamed up to go 15-7 (1-1 at No. 2 and 14-6 at No. 3). The duo opened the spring slate on a 5-match winning streak, including a 6-4 win at Tulsa.
They would close out the season on a high note as well, winning eight of their last nine matches. The stretch included regular season wins over league foes Sam Houston and Kennesaw State as well as non-conference wins against Memphis and Tulane. The tandem would also go a perfect 3-0 at the CUSA Championship with decisive victories versus WKU (6-2), Middle Tennessee (6-2), and FIU (6-3).
June Vigneron was also recognized as a member of the CUSA All-Freshman Team. She became a mainstay in the singles lineup for the Bulldogs around the halfway point of spring. She would put together an 8-3 dual singles record, going 2-0 at No. 4, 1-0 at No. 5, and 5-3 at No. 6.
The Bulldog began a 6-match winning streak by providing the clinching point against both Kennesaw State and UTEP towards the end of the regular season. She also won in three-sets to clinch the final point against both WKU and Middle Tennessee, helping the Bulldogs advance to the CUSA Championship match.
2025 CUSA Women’s Tennis Superlatives & All-Conference Teams
Women’s Tennis Superlatives
Freshman of the Year
Liberty, Yu-Yun Chen
Newcomer of the Year
Louisiana Tech, Mio Kozaki
Player of the Year
FIU, Ekaterina Khairutdinova
Doubles Team of the Year
FIU, Ekaterina Khairutdinova & Valery Gynina
Singles Player of the Year
FIU, Valery Gynina
Coach of the Year
Louisiana Tech, Amy Sargent
All-CUSA First Team Singles
FIU, Ekaterina Khairutdinova
FIU, Oyinlomo Quadre
FIU, Valery Gynina
FIU, Katerina Madelikova
FIU, Aleksandra Simeva
Kennesaw State, Ema Baraniakova
Louisiana Tech, Zoie Epps
Middle Tennessee, Alessia Truden
All-CUSA Second Team Singles
Jacksonville State, Zuzana Pavelekova
Liberty, Daniella O’Neill
Liberty, Yoanna Radulova
Louisiana Tech, Ana Rodrigues
Middle Tennessee, Cassidy Mataia
UTEP, Carlotta Mencaglia
WKU, Sofia Blanco
WKU, Rachel Hermanova
All-CUSA First Team Doubles
FIU, Katerina Madelikova & Oyinlomo Quadre
FIU, Ekaterina Khairutdinova & Valery Gynina
Kennesaw State, Ema Baraniakova & Sofia Madrid
Louisiana Tech, Zoie Epps & Ana Rodrigues
All-CUSA Second Team Doubles
Liberty, Daniella O’Neill & Maria Turchetto
Liberty, Yu-Yun Chen & Celina Joseph
Louisiana Tech, Mio Kozaki & Nina Skoric
Middle Tennessee, Alessia Truden & Rutuja Chaphalkar
All-Freshman Team
FIU, Dana Baidaulet
Jacksonville State, Lea Erenda
Kennesaw State, Che Nel
Liberty, Anika Lemus
Liberty, Yu-Yun Chen
Louisiana Tech, June Vigneron
