Beaumont, Texas – Lamar University raced out to a big lead and never looked back defeating Bucknell, 6-1, Monday afternoon at the Thompson Family Tennis Center. The victory – LU's third in the last four outings – proved the team's ability to have a short-team memory as the Cardinals stepped on the court less than 24 hours after falling to South Alabama.
 
"I'm super proud of the guys bouncing back to get the win today," said LU head coach Scott Shankles. "It helps when you start fast. We built big leads in two doubles matches that led to getting the important doubles point. By gaining the advantage it gave us confidence to do the same in singles, but more importantly, I'm proud we closed out the singles matches this afternoon to get the team win."
 
The Cardinals' wins came from courts one (Nicolas Mayr/Axel Vila Antuna) and three (Carlos Paton Canal/Joshua Taylor). Mayr and Vila Antuna recorded a fairly easy 6-2 decision over Bucknell's Marwan Abaza and Max McDonald at line one singles, and Paton Canal and Taylor closed doubles play with a 6-3 winner over Ethan Jacobs and Ryan Jurist after the Bison picked up a court two victory.
 
Vila Antuna continued his hot play after knocking off Jacobs in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, at the No. 1 position to push the Cardinals' lead to two. Moments later, sophomore Arthur Serafim gave the Cardinals an insurmountable lead with his straight-sets decision on court No. 4.
 
With two singles victories in the bag, the Cardinals needed only one on the four remaining courts for the overall victory. The Red and White didn't have to wait long to get that victory. In fact, the Cardinals won three of the final four matches for the final score, but the clincher came from No. 3 singles when Paton Canal defeated Bucknell's Marwan Abaza, 6-3, 6-3.
 
The Cardinals will have a week to prepare for their next match when they face Dartmouth. The match against the Big Green will take place Tuesday, Mar. 19, from the Thompson Family Tennis Center at 10 a.m.