AUSTIN, Texas – Junior Juuso Laitinen picked up a 6-2, 6-4, victory at No. 6 singles Tuesday evening to pull Lamar University into a 1-1 tie with No. 12 Texas, but it would be the only victory for Lamar University in their season opener. The Longhorns rattled off five hard-fought singles wins to defeat LU, 6-1, at the Weller Tennis Center in Austin.
 
The Cardinals (0-1) forced two matches to a third set and had three sets that had to go to a tiebreaker before being decided, including No. 1 doubles.
 
"We feel good about match," said LU men's head coach Scott Shankles. "We put ourselves in good position, played hard and gave ourselves a chance to win some matches. We had a lot of deuce points but we didn't convert on enough. Texas is a young team, but very talented. I'm very encouraged by what I saw today.
 
"Like it is with any other sport, this was our season opener and we were not in midseason form. We also opened up against a very tough opponent in front their home fans. That's not the reason we lost but it is an important factor," added Shankles.
 
The Longhorns took a quick 1-0 lead in doubles competition despite a tough battle at the No. 1 position. LU's team of Nikita Lis and Jeandre Hoogenboezem took Texas' Michael Riechmann and Adrian Ortiz down to the wire before the Horns' tandem was able to pull out the victory in the tiebreaker. Prior to the conclusion at No. 1 doubles, UT scored the point with their wins at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles.
 
The Red and White battled back to tie the match at one following junior Juuso Laitinen's victory at No. 6 singles. Laitinen won his match in straight sets with a 6-2, 6-4, victory over Texas' Colin Markes. The Longhorns responded to the LU score by reclaiming the lead with wins at Nos. 3 and 2 singles respectively.
 
The Longhorns recorded the match-winner at No. 5 singles when Julian Zlobinsky defeated Hoogenboezem in a close tilt. After taking the first set, 6-2, Hoogenboezem rebounded by forcing his opponent into a tiebreak but came up short, 7-6 (3).
 
Big Red showed poise down the stretch by continuing to battle despite the fact the overall outcome had already been decided. Junior Michael Fuecht and sophomore Benny Schweizer each forced their matches to a third set. Feucht recorded a 6-4 decision in the opening set at No.1 singles, but couldn't hold the momentum as UT's George Goldhoff battled back for 7-6 (3) decision in the second. Goldhoff also recorded 10-4 decision for the match in the super tiebreak.
 
It was the exact opposite for Schweizer who had to battle back in the second set after dropping the first set at No. 4 singles. Schweizer picked up a 6-4 decision in the second set and fought hard in the third set before falling, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.
 
The Cardinals return to action Saturday when they travel to Lafayette, La., to take on Louisiana-Lafayette. The match against the Ragin' Cajuns will begin at 1 p.m.
 
-LU CARDINALS- 
Singles
1. George Goldhoff (UT) def. Michael Feucht (LU), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 1-0 (10-4)
2. Scott Harrison (UT) def. Nikita Lis (LU), 6-2, 6-1
3. Adrian Ortiz (UT) def. Sebastian Santibanez (LU), 6-0, 6-1
4. Michael Riechmann (UT) def. Benny Schweizer (LU), 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
5. Julian Zlobinsky (UT) def. Jeandre Hoogenboezem (LU), 6-2, 7-6 (3)
6. Juuso Laitinen (LU) def. Colin Markes (UT), 6-2, 6-4
 
Doubles
1. Riechmann/Ortiz (UT) def. Lis/Hoogenboezem (LU), 7-6 (5)
2. Goldhoff/Zlobinsky (UT) def. Feucht/Schweizer (LU), 6-3
3. John Mee/Harrison (UT) def. Laitinen/Santibanez (LU), 6-1