BEAUMONT, Texas – After posting an 8-13 (.381) overall record and 5-6 (.455) mark in Southland Conference play, the Lamar University women's tennis team heads to Corpus Christi, Texas to open play in the 2019 Southland Conference Championships. The Cardinals drew the eighth seed and will open the tournament against top-seeded Abilene Christian Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m.
 
The 2019 tournament will take place from the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center in Corpus Christi. The three-day tournament will begin with opening-round matches Thursday at 10 a.m. in the first session. The Cardinals will take the court against ACU as part of the afternoon session.
 
The Red and White are making their first trip to the league's postseason tournament since the 2017 campaign when they entered as the No. 2 overall seed. That year, Big Red posted a 1-1 mark in postseason play.
 
The Cardinals won two of their final three matches of the regular season to lock up the league's eighth and final playoff spot but will be facing a Wildcat squad that posted a 6-1 victory over Big Red earlier this season (in Abilene). The Wildcats posted one of their best seasons in program history going 14-9 (.609) on the season and 10-1 (.909) in Southland Conference play. ACU won six of its final seven down the stretch with the lone setback coming at Central Arkansas.
 
Should LU get past Abilene Christian they would face the winner of the No. 4 Sam Houston State vs. No. 5 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi match Friday at 2 p.m. The other half of the bracket consists of No. 3 Central Arkansas against No. 6 McNeese and second-seeded Northwestern State squaring off against No. 7 New Orleans. The Championship will take place Saturday at 2 p.m.