NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Lamar University women's tennis team had a strong first day of competition at the Southland Fall Invitational in New Orleans, La. The Cardinals posted a 6-5 (.545) singles record on the day. LU also added a doubles victory on the first day of competition at the tournament which was hosted by the University of New Orleans.
 
Unfortunately, the Cardinals won't have an opportunity to advance as the rest of the tournament has been canceled, and the area is being forced to evacuate do to the forecasted impact of Tropical Storm Nate.
 
"These were much better results for us today compared to our last tournament," said LU head coach David Wong. "We had some great wins and the losses were very close. This team is growing together as a cohesive group. It is a very positive process."
 
The impact of the rest of the tournament being cancelled hits no Cardinal harder than sophomore Jasmin Buchta. The Austrian native won both of her matches in Flight 1 singles Friday advancing to the finals. Buchta ousted Central Arkansas' Pornpawee Pramethong in her opening match, before taking on New Orleans' Trang Dao in front of her home fans. Despite the disadvantage, Buchta came out on top.
 
All but one member of the Red and White walked away with an opening-round victory Friday. The rest of the Cardinals who picked up first-round wins include freshman Kaela Di Giulio (Flight 2), freshman Anita Bozhko (Flight 4), Sanja Jolic (Flight 5) and freshman Natalia Molina (Flight 6).
 
The cancellation of the rest of the tournament is a negative for the Cardinals in the long run. LU was counting on this tournament to gain some much needed experience for a very young team. The Cardinals roster consists of seven newcomers and six freshmen.
 
The Cardinals have only two fall tournaments remaining before they begin preparations for the start of the spring season. LU will be back in action Saturday when they travel to Pensacola, Fla., to compete in the West Florida Invitational.
 
-LU CARDINALS-