March 20, 2005

Results

HUNTSVILLE - One day after a disappointing loss at Texas-Arlington, the Lamar women's tennis team bounced back with a 4-3 Southland Conference win at Sam Houston State, picking off the Bearkats at the SHSU Tennis Courts.

The win capped a two-match road swing and upped the Lady Cardinals record to 9-6 overall and 4-2 in SLC play. Sam Houston fell to 6-6 for the year and 1-2 in league action. LU returns to the courts on Saturday, Mar. 26 with a 3 p.m. non-conference match against Abilene Christian.

For the sixth time in as many matches, the Lady Cardinals started off the match by winning the doubles point. LU's No. 1 doubles team of Andrea Martinez and Tara Shelander continued to show their dominance by winning for the 14th straight time with an 8-4 victory over Lata Assudani and Mounia Hassib. The Lamar sophomore combo now boasts a 14-1 overall record and a perfect 6-0 mark in SLC matches.

LU also picked up a doubles win at the No. 3 position, where senior Hayley Bakker and freshman Marion Brument won for the fifth straight time with an 8-6 decision. The pair is now 9-2 overall and 4-1 in the SLC. Lamar's No. 2 team lost by the same score (8-6) to SHSU's Cristina Flores and Erika Rudich.

In singles play, Lamar clinched the overall victory by posting wins at the top and bottom of the draw. Martinez, a native of Durango, Mexico, rebounded from a straight set loss to UTA's nationally-ranked No. 1 on Saturday by recording a three-set, come-from-behind win over the Bearkats top player on Sunday. Martinez improved to 10-5 on the year and 5-1 in league play with a 3-6, 6-4 and 6-4 win. Shelander, Martinez's doubles partner, fell on the opposite end of her three-set match with Emma McDougall. A native of Beaumont, Shelander won the first set of the No. 2 match, 6-3, but fell 7-5 and 6-4 in the following two frames. The loss snapped a five-match winning streak and dropped the left-hander to 10-5 on the year.

Bakker and Gibbs both lost for the second straight time, dropping straight set decisions at the No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. Brument, a freshman from Groffliers, France, continued her hot play at the No. 5, dropping SHSU's Rudich, 6-3 and 6-2. Brument has now won five in a row, while upping her season record to 10-4 overall and 5-1 in the SLC. LeRoy, a freshman from France, won her first league match of the year with a 6-4, 6-0 drubbing of Sam Houston's No. 6.

Lamar University 4, Sam Houston State 3
Singles competition:
1. Andrea Martinez (LAMAR) def. Lata Assudani (SHSU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
2. Emma McDougall (SHSU) def. Tara Shelander (LAMAR) 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
3. Mounia Hassib (SHSU) def. Hayley Bakker (LAMAR) 6-3, 6-4
4. Cristina Flores (SHSU) def. Kendall Gibbs (LAMAR) 6-3, 6-0
5. Marion Brument (LAMAR) def. Erika Rudich (SHSU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Marine LeRoy (LAMAR) def. Bethany Yurkiw (SHSU) 6-4, 6-0

Doubles competition:
1. Martinez/Shelander (LAMAR) def. Assudani/Hassib (SHSU) 8-4
2. Flores/Rudich (SHSU) def. Gibbs/LeRoy (LAMAR) 8-6
3. Bakker/Brument (LAMAR) def. McDougall/Yurkiw (SHSU) 8-6