BEAUMONT, Texas – It took nearly seven hours to complete, and both teams had to face wet and windy conditions, but in the end Lamar University rallied from an early deficit to defeat Southeastern Louisiana, 4-2, in Southland Conference play Saturday afternoon at the Thompson Family Tennis Center. The victory also keeps the Cardinals' postseason hopes alive.
 
The Cardinals (5-14/3-7 SLC) entered the day in a three-way tie for ninth in the Southland Conference standings, a match back of Incarnate Word. At the start of competition, the Red and White needed to win its final two matches to earn a spot in the SLC Championships later this month.
 
Saturday's victory, in conjunction with UIW's loss to Abilene Christian, moved the Cardinals out of a three-way tie for ninth and into a two-way tie for eighth with one match remaining in the regular season.
 
"I'm very proud of how our team performed today," said LU head coach David Wong. "The weather conditions were awful, but we remained focused and persevered. We definitely had a letdown early in the match due to the rain. I felt like we had the momentum and then the rain came and we had to wait a while to resume doubles. We finally got back on the court for doubles and we didn't close it out, but quickly turned things around in singles.
 
"We got quick wins on courts 3 and 1 and that really set the tone for the rest of the match. Now, we have to get ready for tomorrow. The match against New Orleans is equally as important. We have to show up ready to fight," added Wong.
 
The doubles competition got started at noon, and due to a three-hour rain delay, the point wasn't awarded until after 4 p.m. When it was finally put on the scoreboard, it was in favor of the visitors. Although it was a missed opportunity, the Cardinals did not allow it to be the defining moment of the match.
 
That "defining" moment came less than 45 minutes later when the Cardinals grabbed their first lead of the day. Reigning SLC Player of the Week, Amelie Vossgaetter, made quick work of her opponent at No. 3 singles, and sophomore Jasmin Buchta followed suit just moments later with an easy straight-sets victory at the No. 1 position. The two Cardinals combined to win 24 of the 26 games played, with Vossgaetter pitching a straight-sets shutout.
 
Despite the setback, the Lions bounced right back on court 4 to tie the match back at 2. SLU's lone singles' victory of the afternoon would be as close to an overall win as they would get as Big Red rattled off wins on courts 2 and 5 to clinch the match.
 
The final two matches held the most excitement of the afternoon – other than finding out when the rain had cleared out of Beaumont – as court 2 was decided in a second set tiebreak and No. 5 singles went to a third set. Sophomore Sanja Jolic defeated SLU's Dany Raygadas, 6-2, 7-6 (9-7) at the No. 2 slot, while Natalia Molina rallied from a first-set loss to defeat Jiva de Veer, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.
 
The Cardinals return to action Sunday at 1 p.m. to host New Orleans for Senior Day. Fans are urged to arrive at the Thompson Family Tennis Center by 12:30 p.m. to watch the recognition of the LU Class of 2018.
 
-LU CARDINALS-