BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University women's tennis team will embark on their first Western Athletic Conference season beginning Friday when they take on Tarleton State in Huntsville. The neutral-site contest will be one of two matches Big Red will play in the conference POD hosted by Sam Houston.
 
The Cardinals (7-6/.538) enter the week one match over the .500 mark and have won consecutive matches over Nicholls and Binghamton – which snapped a four-match skid.
 
The TexAnns (11-4/.733) are off to a strong start having won four of the last five matches and 10 of the previous 12. Tarleton is coming off a tough 4-2 decision Tuesday against Pacific. Saturday's contest will be just the third time the two programs have met on the court with each having recorded a victory. LU won the first ever meeting back during the 2013 season, while the TexAnns got a win last season in Edinburg. Saturday's match is slated to begin at 2 p.m.
 
LU will be back on the court Sunday when they face Sam Houston in an 11 a.m. match. The Bearkats are 5-7 (.417) overall and have dropped three of the previous four but are coming a 6-1 victory over Binghamton last time out.
 
The Cardinals lead the all-time series, 22-9, including a 9-5 (.683) mark in Huntsville, but the two teams have split the previous six outings.