BEAUMONT, Texas – The 2017 Southland Conference Co-Champions – Lamar University and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi – met at the Thompson Family Tennis Center Wednesday afternoon for a rematch of last year's tournament finals. The Islanders took an early lead and made it stand defeating LU, 5-2.
 
The match was closer than that final score indicated as four courts were pushed to a third set. Unfortunately for the Red and White, LU could only manage a victory on one of those courts.
 
"It was a hard-fought match, and we knew that was going to be the case because it always is against Corpus Christi," said LU head coach Scott Shankles. "The doubles competition was a letdown for us. We had some good starts in singles but we split the first set – we won three and they won three. After that, it boiled down to who wanted it more and A&M-Corpus Christi wanted it just a tiny bit more."
 
The Islanders picked up victories at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles to take the opening lead of the match, 1-0, as the two teams transitioned into singles. The two rivals split the six singles matches in the early going with the Cardinals taking early leads on courts 1, 5 and 6. A&M-Corpus Christi scored the first point in singles with Thomas Rodrigues taking a hard-fought decision over freshman Arthur Serafim, 6-2, 6-1, on court 3.
 
The Cardinals (7-13/1-3 SLC) managed to put a stop to the run at No. 1 singles when senior Benny Schweizer ousted Francois Kellerman, 6-3, 6-4. Big Red also received a boost from junior Sebastian Santibanez at the No. 2 position. After dropping the opening set, Santibanez rallied in the second to force a third set.
 
While Santibanez was headed to a deciding set, the Cardinals were trying to pull even on court No. 4. Senior Logan Powell battled back from an opening-set loss to take the second, 6-2. Unfortunately, Powell – one of two seniors honored before the match – couldn't hold the momentum getting edged out, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
 
Trailing by two, and needing to win the final three matches for the overall victory, Santibanez completed the comeback on court No. 2 with his thrilling 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, decision over the Islanders' William Mottet. The victory pulled LU within a point, 3-2, but the Cardinals were unable to get any closer dropping three-set decisions on courts 5 and 6.
 
The Cardinals return to action Thursday for the regular-season finale against Nicholls. A victory over the Colonels and LU will advance to the Southland Conference Championships. Thursday's match will begin at 2 p.m. from the Thompson Family Tennis Center.
 
"Tomorrow's match is going to be the single-most important match of the season," said Shankles. "We are at home which is great. We need to have a very loud, vocal crowd because our guys feed off that emotion. Nicholls is a well-coached program. It will come down to who wants it more."
 
-LU CARDINALS-