LAKE CHARLES, La. - The Lamar University women's tennis team was unable to make it two Southland Conference wins in a row dropping a 5-2 decision at rival McNeese State Sunday afternoon. The loss drops LU to 3-5 overall and 1-3 in Southland action.

"Today was a very frustrating day," said LU head coach David Wong. "The match came down to unforced errors, and not being able to keep the ball in play. We haven't quite figured out how to gut out a win when we aren't playing our best. The important thing for us to do now is get back up and get ready for UNC-Wilmington."

The match was a complete reversal from Saturday's three-point victory over Nicholls. LU opened singles competition down, 1-0, after dropping two of the three doubles matches. The Cardinals were up a game at No. 2 doubles before the point was awarded and the match called.

Big Red trailed 2-0 before freshman Luciana Di Laura picked up the team's first win. Similar to her victory Saturday, Di Laura cruised to a 6-1, 6-2, decision over McNeese State's Vivien Borbely at No. 6 singles.

After dropping her first set at No. 1 singles, junior Katya Lapayeva appeared to be on the verge of forcing a third set. The Mogilev, Belarus native, battled the Cowgirls' Fioretti to a tiebreak in the second set before falling, 6-1, 7-6 (8-6), as McNeese State took a 3-1 lead in the match.

The Cardinals got their second point of the afternoon from sophomore Andrea Ivanovic at No. 2 singles. After falling in the first set, 6-1, Ivanovic battled right back to take the second in a tiebreak, 7-6 (7-4). Ivanovic didn't let up there as she also won the third set super tiebreak, 10-6, for the point. Ivanovic's victory came too late as the Cowgirls rattled off three consecutive singles wins to pick up the overall team victory.

The Cardinals return home to host UNC-Wilmington in a non-conference match Wednesday, March 9. The match against the Seahawks is slated to begin at 2 p.m. from the Thompson Family Tennis Center. Admission to the match is free.

Singles
1. Giovanna Fioretti (McN) def. Katya Lapayeva (LU), 6-1, 7-6 (8-6)
2. Andrea Ivanovic (LU) def. Julia Kral (McN), 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 10-6
3. Sarah Jurakova (McN) def. Anna Spengler (LU), 6-2, 6-1
4. Hannah Brett (McN) def. Talisa Merchiers (LU), 6-4, 6-1
5. Charoline Erlandsson (McN) def. Stephanie Marchena (LU), 6-4, 4-6, 10-6
6. Luciana Di Laura (LU) def. Vivien Borberly (McN),6-1, 6-2

Doubles
1. Jurakova/Fioretti (McN) def. Ivanovic/Spengler (LU), 6-3
2. Lapayeva/Di Laura (LU) vs. Kral/Erlandsson (McN), 6-5, Unf.
3. Brett/Borbely (McN) def. Merchiers/Marchena (LU), 6-4


-LU CARDINALS-