SAN ANTONIO, Texas – For the second time in a week Lamar University squared off against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and for the second time the Cardinals walk away victorious – this time to advancing to the second round of the 2024 Southland Conference Championships. LU defeated rival Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 4-0, Thursday to advance to the Southland quarterfinals.
 
The victory, Lamar's fourth consecutive and fifth in their last six matches, moves the Cardinals back to .500 on the season (11-11).
 
The Cardinals never allowed A&M-Corpus Christi to put together any type of momentum almost from the coin toss. Big Red won its two double matches in impressive fashion and carried the momentum into singles winning first sets on all but two courts, with one of Corpus Christi's opening-set wins having to come in a tiebreak.
 
Lamar took the opening lead of the day with an impressive showing in the doubles competition. The Cardinals took large leads on courts 2 (Brandon Do and Martin Garcia-Ripoll) and 3 (Joan Crespo and Haruki Omori-Cowie). The Islanders had a lead at No. 1 doubles but Lamar held on to post 6-2 victories on the other two courts for the point.
 
Lamar held that momentum through singles where they took early leads on a majority of the courts. The Cardinals turned that momentum into early points as second-team All-SLC selections Max Amling and Omori-Cowie rattled off straight-set victories. Amling defeated the Islanders' Etienne Marty, 7-5, 6-2, on court 1, while Omori-Cowie finished Nicolas Trebuchet, 6-1, 7-6 (7-1).
 
Amling's victory was the deciding point as Martin Garcia-Ripoll also took home a win at No. 1 singles. Senior Brandon Do was up a set tied in the second when his match was halted.
 
The Cardinals will now turn their attention to No. 1 seed UIW Friday. The match against the league's other Cardinals is slated to begin at 6 p.m. from the McFarlin Tennis Center.