BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University hosted UT Arlington in what was their third match in the last four days, but the Cardinals came up just short falling to the Mavericks, 5-2, Sunday afternoon at the Thompson Family Tennis Center.
 
The back-and-forth affair saw several momentum swings as the Cardinals (8-6) took an early lead. Before the day was over, the match would see four sets go to a tiebreak and three courts go to a third set before UTA would rally for the victory.
 
The Cardinals fired the first shot of the day when the won the doubles point. After splitting the first two courts, the point came down to court No. 3. The team of senior Joshua Taylor and Martin Garcia-Ripoll outlasted UTA's Daichi Akiyoshi and Ricardo Alban in a tiebreak, 7-6 (7-5).
 
Freshman Juan Jose Rodriguez made it a 2-0 lead for the Red and White when he defeated the Mavs' Akiyoshi in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1. The Cardinals' lead didn't last as UTA rallied for wins on courts 6, 5 and 1, respectively to take a 3-2 advantage. Two of those three victories came in three-set matches.
 
With UTA out in front, and the Cardinals needing wins on the final two courts all attention was turned to courts 3 and 4. Both matches were headed to a third set with the Cardinals winning the second set at No. 4 to force the third, and UTA won the second on court 3. Unfortunately, the Mavericks held on for the decision on both courts for the final score.
 
The Cardinals return to action Friday when they travel to Las Cruces, N.M. to take on Seattle in their first WAC match in program history.