BEAUMONT, Texas – Trailing 3-2 with two matches remaining newcomers Bianca Vitale and Laura Sola Grau posted consecutive singles wins to hand Lamar University a thrilling 4-3 victory over UTSA in its home opener Thursday morning. The match was scheduled to be the first of a doubleheader, but the second match got rained out.
 
The rain may have been a blessing in disguise for the Cardinals who played four three-setters against UTSA. Courts 2, 4, 5, and 6 all went the distance.
 
"I'm really proud of our ladies," said LU head coach David Wong. "I take my hats off to UTSA. They fought extremely hard. The clincher came from a freshman and it is always nice to see your underclassmen come through in clutch situations. Prior to that, we needed Bianca to tie the match at No. 2, and she was also able to pull out a tough three-setter. Laura, Bianca, Jasmin and Sanja were really able to bring it home for us today. We need to continue to play with this type of intensity."
 
After dropping the doubles point, the Cardinals did a solid job of immediately taking the momentum away from their guests. LU stole any possible momentum the Roadrunners could have gained in doubles by taking the first set on each individual singles court.
 
"That was a huge factor in our ability to come back this afternoon," said Wong. "We put them in the position of having to play with their backs against the wall early.  It was a battle of two evenly matched teams as UTSA forced a third set on four courts. There were plenty of momentum swings, but we were able to stick with our strategy throughout the match."
 
Junior Sanja Jolic put the Cardinals on the scoreboard with her straight-sets victory at No. 3 singles – it was one of just two two-set matches on the day. The Cardinals took their first lead of the day when classmate Jasmin Buchta recorded the second two-setter on court No. 1.
 
After surrendering the lead, UTSA fought right back by taking victories on courts Nos. 5 and 4, respectively. The 3-2 advantage would be as close to a victory as UTSA would get as Vitale and Sola Grau slammed the door. Vitale tied the match with her 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, victory over UTSA's Mariah Plauth at No. 2 singles. Sola Grau finished off the 'Runners with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, victory over Sophie Omoworare at No. 6.
 
The Cardinals return to action Friday when they travel to College Station, Texas to take on Texas A&M and UNLV. The match against the Aggies will begin Friday at 4 p.m. The Cardinals will return to the court Saturday when they take on UNLV at 10 a.m.