BEAUMONT, Texas – After opening the season with two matches away from home, the Lamar University men's tennis team will open the home portion of its schedule Saturday against SMU. The Cardinals (0-2) enter the match looking for their first victory of the season after opening the year with consecutive matches against 2019 NCAA tournament participants.
 
Things don't get any easier for the Cardinals who face a Mustang squad that is off to a 3-1 (.750) start on the season. SMU opened the year with three-straight wins before dropping a 6-1 decision to Texas a week ago. Prior to the setback, the Mustangs had outscored their opponents by a combined score of 19-2.
 
For the Cardinals, LU head coach Scott Shankles has opened the season with a tough slate of games which includes four of the first five away from home. In addition to facing the nation's 15^th-ranked squad, the Cardinals also squared off against some of the nation's top individual talent. Oklahoma State entered the match with the nation's top-ranked doubles team and three singles players ranked among the national top 100.
 
Saturday's match, which is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. from the Thompson Family Tennis Center on the LU campus, will be the team's lone home match until Friday, Feb. 7, when the team hosts Alcorn State in a doubleheader.
 
Admission to all LU regular-season home matches is free.