LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Lamar University took the fight to Seattle Friday afternoon in their first Western Athletic Conference match defeating the Redhawks, 5-0. The neutral sited victory moves LU to 9-6 on the season and 1-0 in conference play.
 
After picking up the doubles point with consecutive 6-2 decisions on courts 2 and 3 (LU led 5-2 on court 3 before the match was halted), the Cardinals turned their attention to singles play.  Freshman Martin Garcia-Ripoll made it a 2-0 lead with a straight-sets decision on court No. 4. Garcia-Ripoll ousted Seattle's Michael Frank, 6-1, 6-0.
 
Garcia-Ripoll's victory set off a rally for the Red and White that saw four wins in 18 minutes. The Cardinals pushed their lead from one to five in a matter of minutes as freshmen Max Amling, Daniel Sancho Arbizu and Juan Jose Rodriguez rattled off consecutive wins for the overall team victory.
 
The other two courts were halted when the Cardinals got the team win, but Big Red was up a set leading in the second on the remaining two courts.
 
The Cardinals return to action Saturday when they face Grand Canyon. The match against the 'Lopes is slated to begin at 1:30 p.m. (Central time) from Las Cruces.