April 4, 2012

BEAUMONT, Texas - The Lamar University men's tennis team looks to move into fourth place in the Southland Conference when it hosts UTSA in a conference match at 3 p.m. Thursday.

Lamar (6-6 overall, 0-1 Southland) opened its conference season with a 4-3 loss to visiting Nicholls on Sunday.

"We can't afford to start 0-2 in the conference," Lamar coach Scott Shankles said. "We want to be in a position to finish high in the conference."

With just six teams in the conference, each team plays five conference matches. The top four teams advanced to the Southland Conference Tournament.

"Every match is big," Shankles said. "You can't afford to get too far behind."

Shankles wants his team to improve on its doubles play, a factor that proved to be crucial in the loss to Nicholls, as the Cardinals dropped the doubles point.

"We need to win the doubles point and get that 1-0 lead," Shankles said. "When teams are evenly matched, that doubles point often proves to be critical."

UTSA (9-9, 1-1) is led by Dave Kelleher and Yannick Junger, who each have 12 singles victories. Junger has 10 victories in doubles.

Rob Lee leads Lamar with a 7-5 singles record.

There is no admission charge for Lamar home tennis matches.

Following Thursday's contest, the Cardinals open a four-match road swing with a non-conference contest at Louisiana-Lafayette at 1 p.m. Saturday.

LAMAR