BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University wins the final two matches in three sets to defeat UT Rio Grande Valley Friday afternoon, 4-3. Classmates Nicolas Mayr and Arthur Serafim went the distance for LU to get the win over the Vaqueros.
 
"The match actually started off well for us," said Shankles. "Our emphasis was to get off to early leads in doubles play. I thought we executed that game plan. We wanted to do the same thing in singles, but just couldn't get it done and found ourselves down a set on four courts. Today was definitely a rollercoaster, but Nico and Arthur really came through when we needed them."
 
Trailing 3-0 in the third set against UTRGV's Yehonatan Kaufman on court No. 2, Mayr was forced to start from scratch midway through the third. Instead of panicking he simply hit the reset button. Mayr rallied to win six consecutive games to take the individual match and tie the overall match at 3. Mayr's heroics placed the outcome of the match squarely on Serafim's shoulders.
 
Leading 5-4 in the third, Serafim found himself down 30-Love in the 10^th game. Similar to Mayr's rally at No. 2 singles, Serafim slammed the door shut on court number five. He rallied to win the game, set and match by not surrendering another point to the Vaqueros' Georgije Babic, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.
 
LU's sophomore duo was set up by strong play in doubles winning matches on courts one (Joshua Taylor and Axel Vila Antuna) and two (Mayr and Carlos Paton Canal) and No. 1 singles (Vila Antuna defeated Sergio de Felipe Garcia, 6-2, 6-3).
 
The Cardinals will be back in action Sunday when they close the three-match homestand against Southern Mississippi. The match is slated to begin at noon from the Thompson Family Tennis Center. If rain is expected in the area the match will be moved to the indoor courts at the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Complex.