Box Score HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Lamar University traveled to Huntsville, Texas Saturday to open Western Athletic Conference play against Tarleton State. A back-and-forth match that came right down to the wire saw the TexAnns escape with a narrow 4-3 victory over LU.
 
Tarleton State grabbed the early lead after winning the doubles point by taking courts 1 and 2. Big Red's loss at No. 2 doubles was key as the two schools were tied at 4 on court three when the match was halted.
 
Tarleton managed to push their lead to 2-0 before the Red and White got on the scoreboard. Sophomore Ana Jolic got the Cardinals on the scoreboard with her straight-sets victory on court No. 2. The Kikinda, Serbia native defeated Jemi Aguilar, 6-3, 6-1, in straight sets.
 
The TexAnns managed to push the lead back to two, 3-1, with a victory on court No. 5, before LU rallied to tie the match. With their backs against the wall, the Cardinals responded with consecutive victories on courts No. 4 and 6, respectively. Sophomore Alba Perez recorded the Cardinals second point with a 6-3, 6-3 decision over TSU's Elsa Boisson. Moments later Emmeline Polevoi recorded a straight-sets decision at No. 6 to tie the overall match at 3.
 
With the match tied at three, all the attention turned to court No. 1, which was heading to a third set. After dropping a 7-5 decision in the first, junior Elena Tairyan fought back to tie the match with a 7-5 victory in the second. Unfortunately, Tairyan simply ran out of steam toward the end of the match dropping a 6-1 decision to Deniza Marcinkevica in the third.
 
The Cardinals will look to bounce back Sunday when they step on the court for an 11 a.m. match against Sam Houston.