BEAUMONT, Texas – In a back-and-forth match that came right down to the wire, Lamar University came up just short dropping the final two singles matches of the day to get edged by Oral Roberts, 4-3, Friday afternoon at the Thompson Family Tennis Center. The loss drops LU to 2-7 (.222) on the season.
 
Three of the singles matches went to a third set, and the first set on court one went to a tiebreak. Unfortunately for the Red and White, for one of the few times this season, the doubles – which has been dominant lately – came up short winning only one of the three matches.
 
Forced to play from behind after doubles competition, the Cardinals fought their way out of a corner early in singles play. Big Red won four of the six first sets in singles, and one of the two sets they didn't win the immediately battled back to take the second.
 
The Cardinals wasted little time tying and eventually taking the lead after junior Nicolas Mayr and freshman Filippo Salsini picked up rapid fire victories to give the Cardinals a one-point lead. Mayr defeated ORU's Marcello Moreira, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 3 singles. As if trying to copy Mayr's performance, Salsini recorded a victory by the same score over the Golden Eagles' Eddy Leardini at the No. 6 spot just moments later.
 
ORU snagged a victory at No. 4 to tie the match at 2, but the Cardinals responded again – this time in the form of junior Carlos Paton Canal. After dropping the first set, Paton Canal battled back to take a 6-1 decision in the second. He carried the momentum into the third and finished off ORU's Barnabas Koncz, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.
 
With Big Red back in front by a point, LU needed just one victory on the two remaining courts (1 and 5) to pick up the overall win. Both courts were headed to a third set and ORU picked up the first match with a victory on court No. 1. Unfortunately for LU, ORU closed out the match by holding on for the victory at No. 5 as well.
 
The Cardinals will be back in action Sunday when they host Prairie View A&M in a doubleheader. The first match against the Panthers is slated to begin at 10 a.m., followed by the second at 2 p.m. Both matches will be played at the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Courts.