CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Lamar University men's tennis team entered the day as Southland Conference Co-Champions facing rival Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for the outright title. The knowledge of winning a second consecutive conference title could not lessen the sting of a 6-1 setback to the Islanders Friday afternoon at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Complex in Corpus Christi.
"You have to give all the credit to Corpus Christi," said LU head coach
Scott Shankles. "Those guys came ready to play and played a great match. They know how to play in tough moments. They made good decisions all day."
"We're proud to be Southland co-champions, which is a huge accomplishment, but that doesn't take away the disappointment from today's loss," added Shankles.
Friday's outcome is not representative of the Cardinals' (15-7/4-1 SLC) body of work over the course of the season. The Cardinals locked up a share of the title before the match ever started, which is the first time LU has won back-to-back title since the 1975 and 1976 seasons.
LU has been the league's most dominant team over the course of the past two seasons. Friday's loss is the team's first regular-season conference loss since April 7, 2015, a stretch that included 12 matches. The Cardinals have also posted 36 overall wins during that stretch and will now turn their attention to the Southland Conference Championships in Beaumont.
"As we prepare for the Southland tournament, we can't forget what happened today," said Shankles. "There are lessons to be learned from today – tough lessons – but things that we can take apply to the future. If we do that it will make us a better team.
"We are looking forward to returning home and playing in the conference tournament at the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Complex. We get great support from our fans. They're loud and stay engaged through the whole match. They bring energy to the court," said Shankles
The Cardinals were unable to grab the early lead despite taking the first match of the day. The duo of senior
Michael Feucht and junior
Benny Schweizer cruised to a 6-2 victory on court No. 2, but then had to sit back and watch as the Cardinals dropped heartbreaking decisions on courts 1 and 3. The Islanders took the victory on court No. 1 in a tiebreaker, while the score on court three was 7-5.
"We couldn't close doubles, despite having three match points," said Shankles. "It's always tough playing A&M-Corpus Christi, especially on the road. We just couldn't take advantage of the opportunities when we had them."
The singles competition shaped up to be a dogfight on each individual court as three matches went to a third set, and one set had to go to a tiebreak before being completed. The Islanders took the first three singles matches of the afternoon to lock up the overall victory as the Cardinals lone win came on court two from senior
Nikita Lis. One of the courts that went to a third set, Lis outlasted the Islanders' Cagatay Soke, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.
The Cardinals will be back in action Saturday, April 29, when they open play in the Southland Conference tournament semifinals. All matches will be played at the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Complex and admission is free.
-LU CARDINALS-
