Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
BOWLING
Louisiana Tech’s postseason run came to an end Saturday as the Bulldogs fell twice to Wichita State in the NCAA Regional Championship in Arlington, one day after opening the tournament with a pair of victories to reach the title match.
The Bulldogs went 2-0 on Friday to advance to Saturday’s championship round, defeating Bryant and Newman to move within one win of next week’s Final Four.
Louisiana Tech opened regional play with a 2-1 Mega Match victory over Bryant. After dropping the traditional match 960-925, the Bulldogs answered with a dominant 1,053-868 win in the five-game Baker set before securing the tiebreaker 4-2.
Kylee Trexler paced Tech in the opener with a 203 in traditional play, while Jenna Stretch added a 194 and Juliana Kerrigan rolled a 188.
The Bulldogs followed with a 2-0 victory over Newman later Friday. Louisiana Tech claimed the traditional match 987-918 behind strong performances from Stretch (218), Kerrigan (210) and Trexler (201), then completed the sweep with a 1,006-946 win in the five-game Baker format.
Saturday, however, belonged to Wichita State.
The Shockers took the opening Mega Match 2-1 to hand the Bulldogs their first loss of the regional. Wichita State won the traditional match 1,057-1,020 before Louisiana Tech responded with a 1,087-954 victory in the five-game Baker to even the score.
In the best-of-seven tiebreaker, Wichita State built a 2-0 lead. The Bulldogs twice cut the deficit to one point, but the Shockers held on for a 4-2 win to claim the Mega Match.
Thirty minutes later, the teams met again in a winner-take-all best-of-seven Baker match with a Final Four berth on the line.
Wichita State controlled the rematch from the start, sweeping Louisiana Tech 4-0 to advance.
The loss ended Louisiana Tech’s NCAA Tournament run one match short of the Final Four.
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TENNIS
Louisiana Tech capped an undefeated home season in dramatic fashion Friday, rallying for a 4-2 victory over Tarleton State on Senior Day at the LA Tech Tennis Complex.
The Bulldogs (14-3) dropped the doubles point but responded by winning four singles matches, with senior Mio Kozaki delivering the clinching victory to secure the comeback win.
Louisiana Tech coach Amy Sargeant praised the team’s response after the slow start.
“I could not be prouder of how this team responded after a flat doubles point,” Sargeant said. “We regrouped and leaned into the challenge, and we showed exactly who we are.”
Tarleton State (14-6) grabbed the early lead after claiming the doubles point. The 77th-ranked Louisiana Tech duo of Zoie Epps and Isabella Walker opened with a 6-4 win on court one, but the Texans answered with victories on courts two and three to take a 1-0 advantage.
Louisiana Tech quickly regrouped in singles play against a Tarleton State team that entered on a six-match winning streak.
Epps set the tone for the Bulldogs, extending her singles winning streak to 11 matches with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Maria Castano on court one to even the match at 1-1.
The Texans briefly moved back in front at 2-1 after Aya Ishii won in straight sets on court two, but freshman Isabella Walker answered with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Dariia Medviedieva on court six to tie the score once again.
Maria Tsironi then gave Louisiana Tech its first lead of the afternoon, battling past Ximena Morales 6-3, 7-5 on court four for a 3-2 edge.
With the match hanging in the balance, the spotlight shifted to the Bulldogs’ seniors.
While Diana Starodubtseva fought through a second-set tiebreak on court three, Kozaki took control on court five. After winning the opening set 6-3, Kozaki erased a 3-0 deficit in the second by winning five consecutive games before finishing off Marissa Minetti 6-3, 6-4 to clinch the match.
The win allowed Louisiana Tech to finish the home portion of its schedule unbeaten and provided a fitting Senior Day sendoff for Kozaki and Starodubtseva.
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TRACK AND FIELD
The Bulldog women made history in the 400m relays at the Pepsi Florida Relays hosted by the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Osaretin Usenbor, Jamara Patterson, Tyhra Charles and Nia Wiley dominate the women’s 4x400m, securing first place by over three seconds.
Usenbor, Patterson, Charles and Wiley ran a 3:30.13 in the 4x400m relay, a time that bested second place by 3.33 seconds. It marks the second fastest time in outdoor program history as well as the sixth fastest time in DI this outdoor season.
Patterson also found success in her solo 400m run, clocking in at 51.74, good for third place. It marks the second fastest time in outdoor program history, giving Patterson four of the five fastest finishes in the women’s 400 (1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th). Patterson currently has the 10th and 13th fastest times in all of DI.
