BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University men's tennis team returns to action Friday to open their first season in the Western Athletic Conference, in the first of three WAC pods. The Cardinals will be in Las Cruces, N.M. to face Seattle University (Friday) and Grand Canyon (Saturday). Both matches will be played at the NM State Tennis Center.
The Cardinals enter the week with an 8-6 (.571) overall record but are coming off a tough three-match stretch that saw LU drop matches to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, at Texas A&M and UT Arlington. Prior to that, the Cardinals had rattled off seven-straight wins.
The Redhawks are 4-14 (.222) on the season entering the conference opener and enter the week in a similar position to LU having dropped four consecutive. Seattle will be looking for its first win since a Feb. 19
th victory over Pacific.
Grand Canyon has struggled during their non-conference portion of the season posting a 2-11 (.154) overall record in a tough non-conference schedule. Despite the overall record, the 'Lopes have recorded a split in their previous two outings defeating UC Riverside on the road but falling to Illinois State at home.
Friday's contest will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the courts, while LU has a short history with GCU. The lone meeting between Big Red and the 'Lopes came during the 2018 season when GCU recorded a 4-0 victory.
The WAC released its 2022 preseason poll Wednesday with the Cardinals picked to finish fourth in the league. The Cardinals received 24 points and one first-place vote in the poll. Abilene Christian was picked first (34 points/5 first-place votes) followed by GCU, New Mexico State and then LU. Although picked fourth, the Cardinals were one of just three schools to receive a first-place vote.
The Cardinals will have a week to prepare for their next WAC pod after returning from Las Cruces. The second conference pod will take place at the Thompson Family Tennis Center and will consist of LU, UT Rio Grande Valley and Abilene Christian.
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