BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University was taken right down to the wire Friday afternoon but held on to defeat USC Upstate, 4-3, in Mobile, Ala. The match held several tense moments for fans going into the final singles match before it could be decided but the Cardinals picked up the win.
 
The Cardinals (8-5) have now won consecutive matches and five of their last six, none closer than Friday's non-conference contest.
 
The match was close from the opening serve to the final point. Although the Cardinals won the first two doubles matches, the point remained in doubt until the final serve. LU picked up the wins on courts one and two for the lead, with seniors Jeandre Hoogenboezem and Nikita Lis posting a 7-5 decision on court one. The team of senior Michael Feucht and junior Benny Schweizer recorded a 6-3 decision for the point at line two doubles.
 
The match at No. 1 was key because No. 3 doubles was locked in a 6-6 tie when play was halted.
 
The Vikings got right back in the match in doubles play with a victory at No. 3 singles. Upstate's Fernando Bernardes defeated LU's Sebastian Santibanez, 6-1, 6-1, to tie the match. The Cardinals answered right back to reclaim the lead when Feucht defeated the Vikings' Felix Ewers, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 1 singles.
 
USC Upstate responded to the challenge by taking the next two matches. Following Viking wins at Nos. 2 and 6 singles, LU had its back against the wall and was forced to win the final two matches to pull out the win.
 
Hoogenboezem evened the match up with his three-set victory at No. 4 singles. He defeated the Vikings Ankush Aurora, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, to tie the overall score up at 3-3. That placed the weight of match squarely on court No. 5.
 
Senior Juuso Laitinen was locked in an opening set battle with Upstate's Francisco Neto. Laitinen held on to defeat Neto in a tiebreaker in the first set, 7-6 (10-8). With the opening set in his column, Laitinen stepped back on the court looking to close out the match, but Neto responded to the pressure with a 6-3 victory in the second. It was fitting that the final match of the day would go to a third set and Laitinen prevailed with a 6-3 decision in the third.
 
The Cardinals will now turn their attention to a three-match road swing on the West Coast that will see LU play three matches in three days. Big Red opens the swing Wednesday against Loyola Marymount.