BEAUMONT, Texas – Despite the cold temperatures outside, the Lamar University women's tennis team came out on fire to defeat Sam Houston State, 5-2, on Senior Day Sunday afternoon at the Thompson Family Tennis Center. The Cardinals closed the homestand with a perfect 2-0 record and will now close out the regular season with four straight on the road.
 
The Cardinals (6-11/3-4 SLC) jumped out to a 3-0 lead over Sam Houston State and picked up some clutch three-set victories late.
 
"I'm almost at a loss for words on how we competed today," said LU head coach David Wong. "We were solid from the very beginning of the match until the very end. Even on the courts we didn't win our ladies fought very hard. I'm very proud of this team. Sam Houston State is an outstanding team, so this was a very good win for us today."
 
The Cardinals jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead with victories on courts 1 and 3. Big Red was actually in position to pick up another doubles victory as junior Bianca Vitale and sophomore Natalia Garcia Molina were up 5-4 on court two when the match was halted.
 
The Red and White showed no signs of letting up as the two teams transitioned into singles competition. Sophomore Amelie Vossgaetter gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead with her straight-sets victory over Sam Houston's Lusine Choboyan, 6-3, 6-1, on court No.4. Moments later, junior Sanja Jolic had the Cardinals knocking on the door with her straight-sets decision over Karla DeLaLuz Montalvo at the No. 3 position, (6-2, 6-4).
 
Scoring the first three points of the match, extended the Cardinals' scoring streak of 10 straight going back to Friday's match against Stephen F. Austin. The Bearkats put an end to LU's run with a victory on court No. 5, but SHSU's Roos Gerritsen was pushed to a third set before the visitors got on the scoreboard.
 
Attempting to rally late, the Bearkats trimmed the lead to 3-2 with a victory on court No. 1 before Big Red slammed the door in the face of their guests. Courts 2 and 6 were still in action and both were headed a third set. Vitale jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third set, while freshman Laura Sola Grau battled back in the second set to force a third. Vitale never allowed Sam Houston's Isadora Zivkovic to have the lead in final set as she closed out the match and locked up the team victory for Big Red with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 decision.
 
With the team win recorded, all focus was turned to No. 6 singles where Sola Grau watched a slim lead turn into a deficit against the Bearkats' Petra Kaszas. Sola Grau didn't allow her opponent to get any closer to a victory rallying for the 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 decision.
 
"This match probably had a little extra weight to it because it was our final home match of the regular season," said Wong. "Moving forward, we will close out the year with four on the road. We need to carry this momentum into our next match against Abilene Christian."
 
The Red and White will now close out the regular season with four straight on the road beginning Thursday at Abilene Christian. The match against the Wildcats will begin at noon.