BEAUMONT, Texas – Trailing 3-0 heading into the final four singles matches with all four courts headed to a third set, Lamar University recorded one of the more thrilling comebacks in program history defeating UT Rio Grande Valley, 4-3, Saturday to knock the Vaqueros from the ranks of the undefeated.
 
The Vaqueros took the open lead of the day with wins at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles. Lamar (12-10/3-0 SLC) did win the final doubles match with the team of Vicente Monge and Rintaro Shukuda knocking off Paolo Bonaguro and Tsz Him Chan, 7-6 (7-4). While the score at line 3 did not figure into the final score it turned out to be a microcosm of the overall match.
 
The Vaqueros' 1-0 lead would balloon to 3-0 before Lamar would begin to fight its way back, but it would take some time. With two singles courts done the matches at Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 6 were all headed to a third set. LU won the opening set on three of the four courts with junior Stefano Chappuis rallying from an opening-set loss to force a third.
 
Big Red got on the board first with junior Leon Nickel's 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, victory over Sam Whitehead at the No. 1 spot. While Nickel's victory provided a small bit of hope there was still more work to be done. That hope turned into a possibility when Monge – who was originally slated to play the 5 position before being moved up prior to singles – held off UTRGV's Loic Young Kriegel, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, to make the overall score 3-2.
 
The Cardinals trimmed the deficit to a single point and turned what was a possibility into a light at the of the tunnel, but for LU to reach that light it had to win the final two singles matches. Trailing by just a point, Shukuda played his part to perfection pulling LU even, 3-3, with his 6-1, 5-7, 7-5 victory over Serrano on court 3.
 
With the match tied at 3, the Cardinals needed to take the singles match on court 6 to complete the comeback. Chappuis had dropped the opening set, 6-2, but responded by flipping the tables on UTRGV's Him Chan by the same score in the second. Chappuis seized the moment bullying his opponent into submission, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, and pushing Lamar completely into that light at the end of the tunnel.
 
With the victory, the Red and White have now won three straight and five of the past six.
 
Lamar returns to action Monday when they play host to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The match is set for a 1 p.m. start from the Thompson Family Tennis Center.