BEAUMONT, Texas – Just four days after playing their 2026 Southland Conference regular-season finale, the Lamar University men's tennis team returned to the court for the final match of the regular season. Unfortunately, the Cardinals were unable to find their rhythm dropping a 6-1 decision to Abilene Christian Friday afternoon at the Thompson Family Tennis Center.
 
The setback dropped Lamar to 12-13 (.480) overall as the Cardinals now turn their focus to the upcoming 2026 SLC Championship tournament which will be played at the Beaumont Municipal Courts April 20^th – 21^st.
 
Electing to go two starters down (in preparation for the tournament), the Cardinals dropped the doubles point which came down to a tiebreak set on court 1. After the two schools split the outcomes on courts 2-3 (LU's team of Axel Bergh and Rintaro Shukuda taking the victory at line 2), the Cardinals Leon Nickel and Maxwell Lindstedt were locked in a tough match at No. 1. The match was forced to a tiebreak which saw ACU's Ethan Scribner and Merse Deli gain an advantage late and hold on for the win.
 
The Wildcats held the momentum heading into singles taking victories on courts 6 and 4, respectively. Despite being down 3-0, the Cardinals began to fight back on courts 1 and 3. Similar to doubles, Nickel was involved in a tiebreak in his opening set but this time pulled out the victory on court 1. Shakuda bounced back from an opening-set loss to pull even and force the extra frame.
 
The match on court three remained close but Shukuda managed to get the win to put LU on the board. It was a different story on the No. 1 position as ACU's Luis Jose Nakamine battled back for the hard-fought, 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 10-6 victory for the final point.
 
The brackets for the 2026 conference tournament have not been released. Tournament admission is free.