BEAUMONT, Texas – The Southland Conference Co-Champion Lamar University men's tennis team begins its tournament title defense Saturday at 10 a.m. when it squares off against third-seeded New Orleans at the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center. It marks the second time in the past three years the Southland's postseason tournament has come to Beaumont.
 
The Cardinals wrapped up its first back-to-back Southland Conference regular-season title by way of a 15-7 (.682) overall record and a near perfect conference mark (4-1). Unfortunately for Big Red, the lone conference setback came in the regular-season finale at rival Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The loss to A&M-Corpus Christi handed the Islanders a share of the title. Prior to the loss the Cardinals had rattled off six consecutive wins and nine in their last 10 matches.
 
The second-seeded Cardinals will host No. 3 New Orleans in the semifinals. The Privateers finished the regular season with a 7-12 (.368) overall record and a 2-3 (.400) mark in Southland matches. UNO struggled down the stretch dropping three straight and five of its last six. The lone victory during that time was a one-point win over a very talented UL-Lafayette squad on the road.
 
The two teams met in Beaumont on the final day of March with the Cardinals recording an impressive 6-1 victory. The Cardinals won the first two doubles matches and five of the six singles matches to cruise to the five-point victory.
 
Saturday's semifinal match will begin at 10 a.m. from the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center – assuming no weather delays. The Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center has four covered courts but times could be delayed in the tournament is forced to move to those courts. Admission to the tournament is free.
 
The other half of the men's bracket will consist of top-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi facing No. 4 seed Nicholls. The Islanders ended the regular season with a 15-8 (.652) overall record and a 4-1 (.800) mark in league play. Nicholls finished the year with a 5-10 (.333) overall record and an 0-5 mark in conference matches.
 
The winners of the two matches will meet Sunday for the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Championships. Sunday's final is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.
 
The Cardinals enter the tournament with a healthy advantage. The Cardinals have won their last 14 matches in Beaumont, a streak the goes all the way back to the 2015 SLC Championship match.
 
-LU CARDINALS-