BEAUMONT, Texas – The 2016 Southland Conference Champion Lamar University Cardinals (17-5) begin their NCAA tournament run Friday when they travel to College Station, Texas to take on the University of Texas. Ranked 56^th nationally, the Cardinals enter the tournament as the three-seed in the four-team College Station pod, while the 18^th-ranked Longhorns (17-11) are the two seed. Friday's match is slated to begin at 10 a.m. from the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. Should the Cardinals advance past UT they would take on the winner of No. 12 Texas A&M (26-9) and George Washington (14-8).
 
Winners of nine straight, and 11 of their last 12, the Cardinals are playing in their first NCAA Championships since moving to the current bracketed format in 1977, while the Longhorns received their 25^th-straight bid, and 34^th overall, to the championship tournament. The 'Horns enter the tournament having dropped three straight and five of seven.
 
LU and the Longhorns are familiar foes having opened the 2016 campaign against one another back in January. The Longhorns recorded a 6-1 victory, but the match was closer than the final score indicated after breaking down the individual matches. The Red and White forced two matches to a third set and had three sets that went to a tiebreaker before being decided. Friday's match would be the fourth meeting all-time against the Longhorns, with UT having won all three previous matches (according to partial LU records).
 
The Cardinals have had some success against ranked teams this season. Texas would mark the seventh match against a nationally ranked opponent for LU this season, and it will be the third time LU has faced a squad ranked among the nation's top 20. The Cardinals are 2-4 (.333) in the previous six matches picking up wins against No. 47 Iowa and No. 28 Rice.
 
The second match of the four-team pod is slated to begin at 1 p.m. If Big Red gets past Texas, it would face the winner of the second match Saturday at 1 p.m.
   
LU vs. the Longhorns
The Cardinals are 0-3 (according to partial LU records) all-time against Texas. LU opened the 2016 season against the Longhorns in Austin. Texas took that decision by a 6-1 score but the match was closer than the final score indicated when looking at the individual matches. The Red and White forced two matches to a third set and had three sets that went to a tiebreaker before being decided, including No. 1 doubles.
 
LU vs. the Aggies
Should the Cardinals advance to the second round of the NCAA Championships and face Texas A&M, it would be a familiar foe. The Cardinals are 2-13 (.133) all-time against Texas A&M (according to partial LU records) – a record that includes a 7-0 setback in College Station earlier this season.
 
LU vs. the Colonials
Should the Cardinals advance to the second round and face George Washington it would be the first time the two schools have met on the tennis courts.
 
LU vs. the Field
It can be argued that LU's 2016 schedule has prepared them for this moment. The Cardinals' slate consisted of five matches against NCAA Championship participants, including two in the College Station four-team pod. Those five teams include Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Rice and LSU. The Cardinals posted 1-4 (.200) mark in those matches with the one victory being a 4-1 decision over No. 28 Rice in Beaumont.
 
Lone Star Dominance
The State of Texas will be very well represented in the 2016 NCAA Championships. LU is one of nine programs from the Lone Star State qualifying for the 2016 NCAA tournament. The other programs include Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, SMU, Rice, TCU, Texas-Arlington and Baylor.
 
LU vs. Ranked Teams
Friday's match against No. 18 Texas will mark the seventh time this season LU has squared off against a nationally ranked opponent, and the third time it will face a team ranked among the nation's top 20. The Cardinals are 2-4 (.333) in the previous six matches picking up wins against No. 47 Iowa and No. 28 Rice.
 
The Streak
The Cardinals enter the 2016 NCAA Championships as one of the nation's hottest teams. LU has won nine consecutive matches, and 11 of its last 12 with the only setback during that stretch a 4-2 decision at Nebraska.
 
All-Southland Conference
The Cardinals dominated the 2016 All-Southland Conference teams. All six of LU's regular starters earned postseason recognition, including four first-team selections in singles and doubles. Led by league player of the year Michael Feucht, the Red and White landed five names on the singles all-conference teams which include first-team selections Benny Schweizer, Jeandre Hoogenboezem and Juuso Laitinen. Junior Nikita Lis was a second-team selection in singles. Feucht, Schweizer, Lis and Hoogenboezem each earned first-team all-conference honors in doubles, while the team of Laitinen and freshman Sebastian Santibanez garnered second-team honors. LU head coach Scott Shankles was named Southland Coach of the Year.
 
SLC Players of the Week
Big Red also dominated the Southland's weekly honors throughout the 2016 season. The Cardinals received the Southland's Player of the Week honor six times this past season. Junior Michael Feucht received the honor three times, classmate Nikita Lis earned the honor twice and sophomore Benny Schweizer was named league player of the week in March.
 
Among the Nation's Best
The Cardinals jumped in the ITA national rankings at 61 after their upset victory over No. 47 Iowa, and have remained in the poll each week since that time. The Red and White climbed as high as 54^th after a win over No. 28 Rice at home. The Cards enter the postseason ranked 56^th overall. In addition to the team being ranked, LU's No. 1 doubles team of junior Michael Feucht and Benny Schweizer landed in the doubles national rankings after their upset win over Oklahoma State's Arjun Kadhe and Julian Cash. The Cowboys' duo was ranked ninth nationally at the time of the upset. Feucht and Schweizer debuted in the poll at No. 43 and enter the NCAA Championships ranked 74^th overall.
 
Home Sweet Home
The Cardinals were one of the nation's toughest teams at home this past season. Big Red posted a perfect 7-0 record in those matches outscoring opponents, 40-4. The Cardinals surrendered points to only two opponents with one of those points coming against the No. 28 Rice Owls.
 
Next Match
Should the Cardinals advance out of the College Station pod, they would face the winner of the Columbus, Ohio pod. That four-team pod consists of No. 5 Ohio State, Kentucky, Virginia Tech and Tennessee Tech.