BEAUMONT, Texas – Roy Stepanov and Carlos Paton Canal have signed National Letters of Intent and will continue their education at Lamar University announced head men's tennis coach Scott Shankles Wednesday afternoon. The duo fills a tremendous need as the Cardinals will be losing four talented seniors at the end of the season.
 
"I felt their tennis games match what I look for in a Cardinal," said Shankles. Both have shown steady progress in their rankings and development. I also like the fact they are strong students. Combine these qualities and I feel good about their future as Cardinals."
 
A native of Israel, Stepanov makes his way to Beaumont by way of Ontario, while Canal comes to the Golden Triangle from Puertollano, Spain.
 
Canal is a highly ranked, 5-10, left-handed player. He brings with him a No. 96 open national ranking from Spain, where he was ranked among the nation's U18 top 10. His growing list of notable victories includes seven wins over players ranked among Spain's top 160. He has also posted wins over current NCAA Division I players Manuel de Luis Lamelas (St. Mary's) and Jaime Castillo (Presbyterian College).
 
Stepanov is an OFSAA (Ontario Provincial) doubles champion, who climbed as high as No. 2 in the Israeli national rankings. After moving to Ontario, Stepanov climbed as high as No. 16 in the Canadian national rankings but has recently watched his place fall to 46^th due to an injury which prevented him defending his points. He has consistently been a top 100 Canadian Open player being ranked as high as No. 78.
 
"Roy is another solid player with very strong academics," said Shankles. "He has a very strong work ethic that fits exactly with our culture here at Lamar."
 
The Cardinals open the 2017 spring season Saturday, Jan. 14 when they travel to Houston to take on Rice. The match against the Owls will begin at 4 p.m. LU opens its home schedule a week later with a doubleheader against Alcorn State.
 
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