April 16, 2011

Box Score

BEAUMONT, Texas - The Lamar University women's tennis team moved into sole possession of second place in the Southland Conference with a 5-2 win over visiting Northwestern State on Saturday.

The Lady Cardinals (17-2 overall, 9-1 SLC) moved one game ahead of the Demons (15-4, 8-2) in the standings with one regular-season match remaining.

Lamar rallied after dropping the doubles point as Northwestern State swept the doubles matches. Lamar won five of the six singles matches to run its winning streak to eight matches.

"We didn't play well in doubles, but we came together in singles," Lamar coach David Wong said. "We played very disciplined tennis."

Lamar's Mariaryeni Gutierrez improved to 18-1 at first singles with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win over Olga Bazhanova. Kaltrina Harbuzi moved to 18-1 at No. 2 singles with a 6-3, 6-2 decision over Adna Curukovic. LU's Diana Mendez boosted her singles record to 18-0 with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) decision over Andrea Nedorostova.

Alicia Porte and Natalia Mayagoitia also won at singles for Lamar.

The Lady Cardinals close out the regular season at 10 a.m. Sunday when they host Central Arkansas in a Southland Conference match. Senior Day ceremonies will start at 9:45 a.m. as Lamar honors Gutierrez, Harbuzi and Mendez.

Admission for Sunday's match is free. In addition, there will be free food and beverages. All fans bringing canned foods to be donated to the Southeast Texas Food Bank will be eligible to win door prizes.

LAMAR