BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University women's tennis team kicks off the 2016 spring schedule Saturday with a match against Rice. The 1 p.m. match will serve as the season opener for both squads.
 
The Cardinals step on the court looking to build on a 9-12 (.429) 2015 campaign that saw them just miss out on the Southland Conference tournament on the final day of the regular season. Head coach David Wong enters the new season with a very young roster that consists of a total four freshmen and sophomores, four juniors and no seniors.
 
The Owls open the new season in a similar position with six players classified as freshmen, sophomores or juniors with only one senior. Rice returns five letterwinners from last year's team that posted a 17-9 (.654) overall record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championships where they were defeated by Baylor, 4-2.
 
Big Red will be led by junior Katya Lapayeva who is the team's leading returner in wins. The Belarus native, posted 11 singles victories during the spring season last year and was also one of the squad's top doubles players.
 
The season opener against the Owls is one of four straight home matches for the LU women to start the season. The Cardinals will be back Saturday, Feb. 6 when they host Tyler Junior College in a doubleheader. The first match will begin at 10 a.m. followed by the second at 2 p.m. The Cardinals close out the homestand with a noon match against Arkansas State on Saturday, Feb. 13 before heading to Ruston, La., to take on Louisiana Tech for its first away match of the season. Southland Conference play will begin Saturday Feb. 27 against New Orleans.
 
Saturday's match will begin at 1 p.m. from the Thompson Family Tennis Center. Admission to all LU tennis matches is free.
 
-LU CARDINALS-