BEAUMONT, Texas – After a tough start to the week, the Lamar University men's tennis team will look to bounce back with the start of Southland Conference play Friday. The Cardinals (5-13) open league play Saturday with an 11 a.m. match against New Orleans from the Thompson Family Tennis Center.
 
The Cardinals had won three of their past four matches before hosting No. 40 Dartmouth and Georgia Southern in a tough non-conference doubleheader Tuesday at the Thompson Family Tennis Center. Big Red dropped both ends of the double dip – their third doubleheader of the season.
 
The Privateers enter the week a game under .500 (6-7) on the season but are coming off back-to-back losses (Troy and Texas A&M). Saturday's match will serve as the conference opener for both schools, but it will not be the first time the two teams have met this season.
 
LU faced New Orleans in the second round of the LSU Invite during the second week of the season. The Privateers had the upper hand that day recording a narrow 4-3 victory. The match easily could've gone the other direction as LU picked up singles victories on courts 1, 2 and 4. The Cardinals also had matches on courts 5 and 6 go to a third set before UNO squeaked out a victory.
 
Following the match against UNO, the Cardinals will have a week to prepare for Rice, which will be the final non-conference match of the season. The Cards have three home matches remaining in the 2019 regular season.