BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University men's tennis team put the finishing touches on a perfect homestand over the weekend. After defeating Southern Miss in a thrilling match Friday, the Cardinals came right back to defeat UT Rio Grande Valley, 6-1, Sunday afternoon at the Thompson Family Center.
 
"We feel good about this weekend picking up two wins, including one against a very tough UTRGV squad today," said LU head coach Scott Shankles. "We went through a tough stretch of five matches away from home which allowed us to be better prepared for a tough home weekend."
 
The Cardinals got UT Rio Grande Valley back on its heels early in the doubles competition taking early leads on all three courts. Big Red's team of seniors Jeandre Hoogenboezem and Nikita Lis turned that momentum into a victory at No. 1 doubles. Senior Juuso Laitinen and Logan Powell followed suit minutes later with a 6-3 victory over UTRGV's Yehonatan Kaufman and Andres Hernandez at No. 3 doubles.
 
Just for good measure senior Michael Feucht and junior Benny Schweizer had a 5-3 lead over their opponents when doubles play was halted.
 
As if trying to prevent a similar scenario from 48 hours earlier, the Cardinals didn't allow their guest to gain any momentum in singles play. The bottom third of the lineup picked up two quick victories to put the Cardinals within a point of the overall win.
 
Schweizer defeated Andres Hernandez 6-1, 6-3, at No. 6 singles. Sophomore Sebastian Santibanez was the next Cardinal off the court with an identical performance. He defeated the Vaqueros' Mateo Schmit, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 4 singles.
 
Feucht put the match away with his straight-sets victory at No. 1 singles. He defeated UTRGV's Elliot Johnstone, 6-4, 6-3, to close out the victory. The Cardinals followed with a victory from Hoogenboezem before the UTRGV dented the scoreboard at No. 2 singles.
 
It was a shame the overall outcome was already decided before the match on court five was completed. The most exciting match of the day, senior Juuso Laitinen and UTRGV's Clement Sarradin went to a third set before the outcome was decided. Sarradin took the opening set in a tibreaker, but Laitinen rallied right back in the second outlasting Sarradin, 7-5, to force a super tiebreak. With neither player willing to back down the super tiebreak continued on longer than expected, before Laitinen edged out his opponent, 12-10.
 
The Cardinals close the homestand riding a three match win streak. Big Red will look to carry that momentum into a seven-match swing away from Beaumont. The Cardinals will not compete at home until March 24^th against Incarnate Word.
 
LU travels to Baton Rouge, La. Tuesday, Feb. 28 to take on LSU. The match against the Tigers is slated to begin at 5 p.m.
 
-LU CARDINALS-