NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Lamar University men's tennis team struggled on the first day – and as it turns out, only day – of the Southland Fall Invitational on the University of New Orleans campus Friday. A traditional fall tournament, the Southland Fall Invitational was being used as an early gauge for conference teams as they prepare for the start of the spring season, but more importantly it was being used as an opportunity for the Cardinals youthful squad to gain some much needed experience at the Division I level.
 
The Cardinals enter the 2017-18 season with five returners, but only three starters back from last season. Among the starters, only senior Benny Schweizer and junior Sebastian Santibanez started in both singles and doubles.
 
Big Red's success Friday came from the lower flights as freshman Roy Stepanov and junior Lukas Grubelnig picked up opening-round wins at flights 3 and 4, respectively. Neither player was able to advance to the finals in their bracket.
 
Despite not picking up an first-round win, freshman Arthur Serafim and sophomore Brock Lauer rallied from opening-round losses to finish the day with a .500 record.
 
The LU men have two more fall tournaments remaining before shutting down the fall season for the holidays. The Cardinals have a trip to the ITA Regional Champions on the schedule before returning home to host the Ron Wesbrooks Invitational.
 
-LU CARDINALS-