BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University fell in a marathon of a match dropping a 4-1 decision Saturday afternoon at the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Complex. The match lasted more than five hours, and included a 30-minute weather delay, and then had to be moved from the LU campus to two covered courts at the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Complex before finishing.
 
"I was very proud of our effort today up and down the line," said LU head coach Scott Shankles. "These were all close matches. We started the match with some very high intensity. I thought our guys played their hearts out today. We had another nice crowd out here, which is saying something because they stuck with us through the rain and through a last second venue change. They remained engaged throughout the day."
 
The Owls took the opening lead of the match after winning matches on doubles courts one and two, but LU immediately responded. With Nos. 1 and 2 singles taking the court first, freshman Axel Vila Antuna battled back to tie the match up at 1. Vila Antuna took the opening set over Sumit Sukar, 6-4, but Sukar battled back to take the second. In the deciding set, Vila Antuna went back to work and picked up the victory with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, decision.
 
It was the exact opposite situation at No. 2 singles. After dropping the opening set, sophomore Nicolas Mayr rebounded in the second with a 6-4 decision. Unfortunately, Mayr came up just short in the final set to Eric Rutledge.
 
After taking a 3-1 lead with their victory on court No. 4, the Owls needed just one more win for the overall victory but sophomore Carlos Paton Canal was battling to keep Rice from getting that victory. Paton Canal recorded a 6-3 decision over Rice's Mohamed Abdel-Aziz in the opening set, but Abdel-Aziz recorded a second-set winner to force a third. In the final set Abdel-Aziz held on to edge out Paton Canal, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
 
The Cardinals return to action Thursday when they travel to Abilene, Texas to take on Abilene Christian. The match against the Wildcats will begin at 11:44 a.m.