Courtesy of Louisiana Tech Athletic Communications
Louisiana Tech’s
Zoie Epps
and
Ana Rodrigues
finished the 2024-25 season ranked in the Division I Women’s Tennis Southern Region, as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) on Wednesday.
For a third straight year, a Bulldog finished in the top 20 in singles as
Zoie Epps
capped off arguably the greatest season in program history by being ranked No. 15, the highest of any non-Power 4 player and tied for the highest in school history.
Epps recorded an incredible 37-5 overall singles record, the most wins of any DI women’s tennis player this season. She went 12-2 during the fall slate followed by a 25-3 mark in duals while primarily playing at the No. 2 position.
The First Team All-CUSA selection in singles set the single-season program record for most dual victories, breaking the previous mark of 22 set back in 1982. Twenty-four of her 25 wins came via straight sets, maxing out with a 14-match winning streak.
The Norman, Oklahoma native produced a 7-1 mark against CUSA opponents. Two of those league wins came against WKU and Middle Tennessee to help the Bulldogs reach the CUSA Championship match for the first time in program history.
Epps also teamed up with Rodrigues, earning a ranking of ninth in doubles. In doing so, the duo became the first doubles pairing in program history to be regionally ranked. They were also the only non-Power 4 tandem ranked in the top 10.
The duo combined to go 24-11 this past season, starting off with a Round of 16 main draw showing at the ITA Southern Regionals, a first for any Bulldog doubles team.
Epps/Rodrigues, who were named First Team All-CUSA in doubles, would play every match together during the spring slate, going 20-7 at the No. 1 position. The 20 dual victories set a new single-season program record.
The tandem closed out the season on an 11-match winning streak, registering marquee non-conference wins over Memphis and Tulane. They also won seven matches against league foes, including a perfect 3-0 mark in the CUSA Championship with victories over WKU, Middle Tennessee, and FIU.
Regional Rankings consist of the Top 10 team rankings, Top 20 singles rankings, and Top 10 doubles rankings from each region. Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama make up the Southern Region.
SOUTHERN REGIONAL RANKINGS (SINGLES)
1. DJ Bennett (Auburn)
2. Cadence Brace (LSU)
3. Angella Okutoyi (Auburn)
4. Ava Hrastar (Auburn)
5. Petra Sedlackova (Alabama)
6. Kayla Cross (LSU)
7. Merna Refaat (Auburn)
8. Gianna Oboniye (Mississippi State)
9. Emily Welker (Ole Miss)
10. Gaby Rivera (LSU)
11. Lucie Petruzelova (Ole Miss)
12. Anita Sahdiieva (LSU)
13. Tilwith Di Girolami (LSU)
14. Ludmila Kareisova (Ole Miss)
15.
Zoie Epps
(Louisiana Tech)
16. Ava Esposito (Auburn)
17. Campbell Ricci (Tulane)
18. Chems Doha Zeghlouli (South Alabama)
19. Alice Battesti (Auburn)
20. Maria Martinez Vaquero (Alabama)
SOUTHERN REGIONAL RANKINGS (DOUBLES)
1. Cadence Brace/Kayla Cross (LSU)
2. DJ Bennett/Ava Hrastar (Auburn)
3. Ludmila Kareisova/Anaelle Leclercq-Ficher (Ole Miss)
4. Tilwith Di Girolami/Anita Sahdiieva (LSU)
5. Gianna Oboniye/Athina Pitta (Mississippi State)
6. Margaux Maquet/Petra Sedlackova (Alabama)
7. Angella Okutoyi/Merna Refaat (Auburn)
8. Kenna Erickson/Anita Sahdiieva (LSU)
9.
Zoie Epps
/
Ana Rodrigues
(Louisiana Tech)
10. Klara Milicevic/Sara Nayar (Alabama)
