Box Score THIBODAUX, La. – Lamar University jumped out to a 2-0 lead and held off a late charge to defeat Nicholls, 5-2, Friday afternoon at the Colonel Tennis Complex. The LU (10-7/3-1 SLC) victory sets up a shot at a share of the Southland Conference regular-season title next week at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
Big Red took early command of the match Friday with easy wins at Nos. 1 and 3 doubles. The Cardinals won those two matches with a combined 12-1 score. The match on court two was halted when the point was awarded but LU had the advantage if the point came down to the second court.
 
Junior Joshua Sundaram handed the Cardinals a 2-0 lead with his straight-sets decision over Nicholls' Griffin Babineaux, 6-4, 6-3, at the No. 5 singles position. Although early in the match, Sundaram's victory was pivotal as the Colonels responded with wins at Nos. 4 and 2 singles to tie the match at 2.
 
Nicholls was threatening to take their first lead of the match from the No. 3 singles position as the Colonels' Piyush Surendra Salekar battled back from an opening-set loss to force a third.
 
With the match on court three going to a third, Big Red began to take back control. Sophomore Joshua Taylor recorded a 6-3, 6-4, decision over Antoine Martin-Thiriat, at No. 6 to reclaim a one-point advantage, 3-2. Classmate Axel Vila Antuna posted an identical score for the Cardinals on court one defeating Pavle Drobnjakovic for the overall victory.
 
Just for good measure, the Cardinals closed out the match with a victory on court No. 3. Junior Carlos Paton Canal battled back in the final set for a hard-fought, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-0) victory for the final point.
 
The Cardinals return to action Thursday when they travel to Corpus Christi, Texas to take on the Islanders. The match against A&M-Corpus Christi will begin at 2 p.m. from the Henry Tennis Center. With a victory the Cardinals can earn a share of the Southland Conference title.