BEAUMONT, Texas – Despite having to switch venues due to the weather, and being shorthanded, Lamar University's men's tennis team swept a doubleheader against Alcorn State Saturday afternoon. LU recorded a combined score of 12-2, posting identical 6-1 wins in both matches at the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Complex.  
 
The Cardinals got out to a quick start in the first match taking the doubles point with two clutch performances. After dropping the match on court one, the Cardinals rallied on courts two and three to take the point.
 
Sophomore Axel Vila Antuna and freshman Filippo Salsini gave the Cardinals a 3-0 lead with their fast two-set victories on courts 1 and 3, respectively. The two wins put LU in a position of needing just one more win to take the first match. The Cardinals didn't have to wait long to get that victory. Sophomore Joshua Taylor recorded a 6-3, 6-2 decision over Lukas Adanov on court No. 4 for the overall decision. Big Red went on to pick up victories on courts 5 and 6 with Alcorn's lone point coming from court two. Big red secured the first match of the doubleheader with a convincing 6-1 victory.
 
The Cardinals returned to the courts at the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center in the afternoon to play their second match of the day. With temperatures continuing to drop outside, Big Red showed no signs of relaxing as they continued to turn the heat up on the indoor courts.
 
With a changed Cardinals doubles lineup from the morning, Alcorn State came out with a point to prove and took the match to Big Red. Playing at number one for the Cardinals, Salsini and Taylor dropped a 6-3 decision to the Braves pairing of sophomore Luka Dini and junior David Pata. A similar tale unfolded in the number two match, with the Braves clinching the doubles point with a 6-4 decision over the Big Red's pairing of juniors Carlos Paton Canal and Joshua Sundaram. Big Red closed out doubles with a victory on court three with freshman Brandon Do and Vila Antuna securing a 6-3 decison.
 
Following the disappointment in the doubles, the Cardinals weathered the Braves' resistance and responded in astounding fashion by securing all the singles matches without dropping a set. Paton Canal secured the number 1 singles with a 6-3, 6-4 decision over Braves' senior Stojan Stojanovski. On court 2, Vila Antuna swept aside junior Kareem Bowe with an impressive 6-1, 6-0 decision. In similar fashion, Taylor secured a commanding victory on court 3, with a 6-4, 6-1 decision over Alcorn's Lucas Dini. On courts 4 and 5, Do and Sundaram put the tie to bed and completed the clean sweep with equally impressive 6-1, 6-0 victories against the Braves Santiago Rocca and Dakota Fernandez. 
 
The Cardinals will return to action when they hit the road to face off against Oral Roberts in another doubleheader. It is scheduled to take place on Feb. 26, with the first match due to start at noon and the second at 4 p.m.