BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University came out on the short end of a hard-fought Southland Conference opener, 4-3, to Abilene Christian Thursday afternoon at the Thompson Family Tennis Center. The match was witness to four three setters and three tiebreakers. Unfortunately for the Cardinals (7-7/0-1 SLC), ACU managed to grab the victory in three of the four matches that went the distance.
 
The doubles competition set the tone for the rest of the match as it came down to court three. After the two teams split the first two matches, it all game down to line three. The Cardinals duo of Carlos Paton Canal and Joshua Sundaram outlasted ACU's Joaquin Delgado and Oswaldo Cano, 7-6 (7-4), for the early 1-0 lead.
 
Sophomore Axel Vila Antuna managed to carry that momentum over to the singles competition when he picked up a straight-sets decision on court No. 1 to give LU a 2-0 lead. The Wildcats managed to get on the scoreboard with a victory at No. 4 singles, but freshman Filippo Salsini answered right back with a victory on court three to give LU a 3-1 lead. Salsini managed to defeat Abilene's Mihaly Deli, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, in three sets.
 
Salsini's victory put LU one win shy of winning the overall match, but that would be as close as LU would get as the Wildcats rattled off victories in the final three matches. It was an unfortunate turn for the Cardinals as sophomore Joshua Taylor was the last match remaining (court 5). Taylor won his opening set in a tiebreak, 7-6 (7-5), but as the match wore on, he began to suffer through muscle cramps in his legs. Taylor came up just short in the second set which also went to a tiebreak. In the final set, Taylor put up a fight but just ran out of the steam down the stretch, 6-3.
 
The Cardinals will be back in action Saturday when they return to the Thompson Family Tennis Center to host UIW. The match against the league's other Cardinals will begin at 11 a.m.