BEAUMONT, Texas – After winning two of their first three matches, the Lamar University women's tennis team enters the weekend looking to right the ship in the midst of a tough stretch. In the non-conference run before the start of Southland Conference play, the Cardinals have dropped five straight but have faced tough opponents including SMU, UTSA, Sam Houston, New Mexico State and UTEP and that stretch doesn't get any easier with Southern Mississippi and Arkansas State on the horizon.
 
The Cardinals will host Southern Mississippi Sunday and then get a couple of days to prepare for Arkansas State (Wednesday, Feb. 26).
 
The Golden Eagles are 3-1 on the year and are coming off a close match against Nicholls where they prevailed, 4-3. Sunday's match against the Cardinals will mark the team's fifth consecutive against a Southland Conference school.
 
The two schools have met six times since the inaugural meeting in 2005. Lamar is 4-2 in those meetings and has won three straight in the series. The Cardinals posted a four-point victory last season in Hattiesburg. Sunday's match is set for a 10 a.m. start from the Thompson Family Tennis Center in Beaumont.
 
Big Red will then travel up the road to Nacogdoches, Texas to host Arkansas State in a neutral site match. The Red Wolves are 6-3 (.667) and are coming off back-to-back wins (at Butler and Southeast Missouri State. The match against LU will be the second of the day as ASU will take on Stephen F. Austin prior to facing the Cardinals.
 
Arkansas State and LU have met 16 times since the 1993 season with ASU holding a 10-6 series advantage, but Lamar has had the upper hand in the most recent meetings winning five straight. Sunday will mark the first meeting between the two since the 2016 season when the Red and White posted a 6-1 victory.