Box Score BEAUMONT, Texas – Despite victories at Nos. 1 and 2 singles, the Lamar University women's tennis team came up short against UT Rio Grande Valley, 5-2, Saturday morning at the Thompson Family Tennis Center. The match was moved to a 9 a.m. start from the original 11 a.m. time due to rain expected in the area later today.
 
"I'm very proud of Jasmin Buchta and Sanja Jolic for their hard fought matches," said LU head coach David Wong. "Unfortunately, we made too many unforced errors to stay competitive for the whole match. We've been practicing so strong and to play not to lose was disappointing. Hats off to UTRGV, and coach Sonja today. They fought really hard all day."
 
The doubles point was a battle that came down to court two. After the two teams split decisions on courts Nos. 1 and 3 (with the Cardinals getting the win on three), the match between UTRGV's Dominique Esparza and Doris Aleksovska and LU's Amelie Vossgaetter and Kaela Di Giulio came right down to the wire, but the Vaqueros were able to pull out the victory, 6-4, to take the point.
 
With a one-point advantage, UTRGV looked to add to their lead but got cut off by sophomore Jasmin Buchta. The Austrian native never allowed her opponent in the match dispensing of Esparza, 6-1, 6-3, in straight sets.
 
Unfortunately, the Cardinals were unable to grab the lead after UTRGV picked up a victory on court five. The Vaqueros took a 3-1 lead following a straight-sets win on court three. Big Red put up another rally trimming the deficit to one, 3-2, after sophomore Sanja Jolic defeated, Marine Darzyan, 6-3, 6-2, at No. 2 singles.
 
Jolic's victory placed the Cards in a position of needing wins on the final two courts to take the team match. Despite a tiebreak decision in the first on court No. 6, the Cardinals fell short in the final two matches as the visitors closed out the day with the final two victories.
 
The Cardinals return to action Thursday when they host Eastern Michigan. The match against EMU is slated to begin at 3 p.m. from the Thompson Family Tennis Center.
 
-LU CARDINALS-