BEAUMONT, Texas – The 72^nd-ranked Lamar University men's tennis team wasted little time in taking the doubles points and never looked back recording a shutout over Nicholls, 7-0, Friday morning at the Thompson Family Tennis Center.
 
The victory served as the Southland Conference opener for the Cardinals (9-5/1-0 SLC), while dropping Nicholls to 1-2 (.333) in conference play. The Cardinals have now won eight of their last 11 matches.
 
"It's very important to get that first conference win out of the way," said LU head coach Scott Shankles. "Nicholls is always a tough team to play. Every time they step on the court those guys play with lots of emotion and high energy. That is a talented team, so our plan was to try and minimize their opportunities to get fired up. It's great to come away with a win in your first Southland match of the season."
 
The nation's 43^rd-ranked doubles team of Michael Feucht and Benny Schweizer set the tone for the whole match eliminating Nicholls' Kieran Cronin and Oleksander Podgursky in just minutes, 6-0. Junior Juuso Laitinen and freshman Sebastian Santibanez closed out the point with a 6-3 victory at the No. 3 position shortly thereafter.
 
Junior Jeandre Hoogenboezem gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead with his 6-4, 6-1 victory over Nicholls' Kieran Cronin at No. 5 singles, while Fuecht added another point to the lead with a quick win at line one. Feucht ousted the Colonels' Oleksander Podgursky, 6-2, 6-3, to put the Red and White one point shy of the overall victory.
 
That victory came from Laitinen at No. 6 singles. Laitinen picked up a 6-3 win in the first set and followed that up with a 6-4 victory in the second. Moments later, junior Nikita Lis followed with a straight-sets win at No. 2 singles. Sophomore Benny Schweizer recorded the team's only three-set victory with a 3-6, 6-3, 10-4 win at No. 4 singles.
 
Freshman Sebastian Santibanez scored the final point for the Cardinals but it came by way of default. The previous five singles matches had finished before Nicholls' Max Sinn was unable to finish at court three.
 
The Cardinals return to action Tuesday when they host UTSA. The match against the Roadrunners will begin at 3 p.m. from the Thompson Family Tennis Center.
  
Singles
1. Michael Feucht (LU) def. Olegsander Podgursky (NICH), 6-2, 6-3
2. Nikita Lis (LU) def. Evan Karatzas (NICH), 6-3, 6-3
3. Sebastian Santibanez (LU) def. Max Sinn (NICH), 7-5, 3-2, WD
4. Benny Schweizer (LU) def. Sam Meesen (NICH), 3-6, 6-3, 10-4
5. Jeandre Hoogenboezem (LU) def. Kieran Cronin (NICH), 6-4, 6-1
6. Juuso Laitinen (LU) def. Bernard Wezeman (NICH), 6-3, 6-4
 
Doubles
1. #43 Feucht/Schweizer (LU) def. Cronin/Podgursky (NICH), 6-0
2. Sinn/Wezeman (NICH) vs. Hoogenboezem/Lis (LU), 5-4 Unf.
3. Laitinen/Santibanez (LU) def. Karatzas/Meessen (NICH), 6-3