Lamar sports information

NACOGDOCHES – The Lamar women’s tennis team watched its season come to an end in the opening round of the Southland Conference Championship tournament Friday afternoon at the Schlief Tennis Complex.

The eighth-seeded Cardinals (9-12) couldn’t find an answer for the regular-season champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders, falling 4-0.

The Islanders (21-0) picked up wins at Nos. 1 and 3 doubles to score the first point of the match. A&M-Corpus Christi pushed its advantage to 2-0 when Kerry Galhos recorded a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Stephanie Marchena at No. 6 singles.

A&M-Corpus Christi took a 3-0 lead after picking up another win at No. 2 singles. Junior Katya Lapayeva dropped the first set, 6-1, but rallied back to make it a close battle in the second. Lapayeva hung tough but fell short dropping the match in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, to A&M-Corpus Christi’s Jelena Dzinic.

The Islanders locked up the victory and advanced to conference semifinals with a straight sets victory on court four. A&M-Corpus Christi’s Celia Rodriguez defeated Talisa Merchiers, 6-4, 6-1, for the overall win.

The Cardinals end the season with a 9-12 (.429) overall record, but struggled down the stretch dropping five consecutive matches. LU returns the heart of its roster for next season with no seniors on the 2016 roster.