HOUSTON, Texas – The Lamar University women's tennis team put up a tough fight Friday afternoon but came up just short dropping a 6-1 decision at Rice in the 2019 regular-season opener.
 
Despite falling behind by three early, the match was a lot closer than the final score would indicate after looking at the individual courts. After taking the victory on court No. 1 in doubles action the Cardinals only needed one win on the two remaining courts to take the opening lead of the match. Rice had a strong lead on court two, and three was locked in a tight battle. Unfortunately, the Owls pulled out the close victory at No. 3 doubles for the point.
 
The Owls tried to put the match away early with singles wins on courts five and six, but the Cardinals wouldn't go away. Junior Bianca Vitale edged out Rice's Linda Huang in the first set, 7-5, to take an early lead at No. 2 singles.
 
While Vitale took the early lead in her match, LU's other newcomer – Laura Sola Grau – and junior Sanja Jolic were fighting back in the second set of their matches. After dropping the opening set 6-4 to Rice's Diae El Jardi, Sola Grau came right back with an impressive 6-1 decision in the second set to force a third. In similar fashion, Jolic responded to a 6-3 defeat with a 6-4 victory in the second set.
 
Big Red's attempt at a comeback ended however when Victoria Smirnova defeated junior Jasmin Buchta, 6-4, 6-3, on court No. 1 for the fourth and deciding point. The setback knocked the wind of the remaining courts for LU as Rice took third-set winners on courts four and six.
 
The Cardinals cracked the scoreboard at No. 2 singles when Vitale had to post an identical 7-5 victory for the win in straight sets. Rice closed out the match by taking the final point on court No. 6.
 
The Cardinals return to action Sunday when they make the short trip over to the University of Houston to face the Cougars. The match of Houston will begin at 2 p.m.