BEAUMONT, Texas – Despite slow starts on several courts, Lamar University dispensed of Stephen F. Austin with relative ease Friday afternoon posting a 7-0 victory at the Thompson Family Tennis Center. The shutout moved the Cardinals (5-11/2-4 Southland) into a tie with Stephen F. Austin in the Southland Conference standings, with five league matches remaining.
 
"I'm very proud of this team today," said LU head coach David Wong. "It wasn't always easy but we continued to compete on every court. I thought our ladies remained focused throughout the match. We have talked a lot in the past about you have to ride the waves – sometimes things are going well and sometimes not – but you have to remain focused. We did an excellent job of that today. We were very diligent in our execution. Stephen F. Austin is a talented team, but we persevered. I'm very happy with today's result."
 
The Cardinals took the opening lead of the match after a strong performance in doubles competition. The key doubles performance came from junior Bianca Vitale and sophomore Natalia Garcia Molina on court No. 2. LU's duo dropped the first two games of the match before rallying for the victory over SFA's Gabi Guilarte and Kaja Ljubic. Despite falling behind by two early, the team rallied to be the first doubles court to finish.
 
With one victory in hand, the Cardinals top duo of junior Jasmin Buchta and sophomore Amelie Vossgaetter locked up the point with a 6-4 decision on court No. 1.
 
The match at No. 2 doubles was foreshadowing for singles courts 1 – 3 as the Ladyjacks took early leads on all three courts, only to drop the opening set in each match. Despite SFA's quick start on the top three courts, they had no answer for Big Red's punch on the final three courts. With first set wins on courts four and five locked up, the momentum on the first three courts started to turn in LU's favor.
 
Vossgatter gave the Cardinals a 2-0 advantage with her quick straight-sets victory over Kaja Ljubic, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 4 singles. The 2-0 lead was insurmountable as the Red and White poured it on in the remaining matches taking victories on the five remaining courts.
 
The Cardinals return to action Sunday to take on Sam Houston State. The match against the Bearkats will begin at 2 p.m. and will serve as Senior Day for the Red and White. LU will honor its lone senior – Priscilla Garza – beginning at 1:30 p.m.