HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Lamar University came out victorious in a showdown of former Southland Conference foes Thursday as Big Red defeated Sam Houston, 4-2, in Huntsville. Thursday's match, which was originally slated for a Friday afternoon start, was moved to Thursday to beat the possibility of freezing weather.
 
The two teams elected to play singles first and since the match was decided after the singles competition there was no need to play doubles.
 
While Lamar was dominant in the win, the Cardinals actually had to rally from an early 2-0 deficit. After the Bearkats recorded wins on courts 1 and 2, Big Red answered back on No. 5 singles. Junior Savannah Bijlsma got the Cardinals on the scoreboard with a straight-sets decision over Sam Houston's Ella Fitcher, 6-4, 7-5, to trim SHSU's lead in half.
 
The lone victory sparked the Cardinals as Lamar closed out the day with three more victories for the overall win. After Bijlsma, sophomore Asta Miettinen stepped up on court No. 4 to defeat Sara Sadadinovic by identical 7-5 scores.
 
With the match now tied at 2, the outcome was left to the two remaining matches – courts 3 and 6 – and both were headed to a third set. Junor Martina Alcaino was the first to come through for Lamar. Alcaino outlasted Sam's Aaliyah Hohman, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, at the No. 6 position to give Lamar its first lead of the day. Sophomore Luana Paiva then refused to let that lead slip posting a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, decision over the Bearkats' Christine Jevicky.  
 
The Cardinals are scheduled for one more road match before returning home but the schedule could change depending on the weather. Lamar is currently slated to step back on the court Sunday for an 11 a.m. match against Jackson State in Natchitoches, La.