Lamar sports information

COLLEGE STATION – The 56th-ranked Lamar men’s tennis team (17-6) came up short against No. 18 Texas in the opening round of the NCAA Men’s Tennis Championships Friday in College Station. The Longhorns recorded a 4-0 victory at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center to advance to the second round to face the winner of No. 12 Texas A&M and George Washington.

The Longhorns took the opening lead of the match after picking up wins at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles. UT’s Adrian Ortiz and Julian Zlobinsky recorded the first victory of the day with a 6-2 score over juniors Jeandre Hoogenboezem and Nikita Lis on court two. The Horns’ John Mee and Harrison Scott followed suit with a 6-2 win over junior Juuso Laitinen and Sebastian Santibanez on court three moments later for the point.

The setback was made even tougher to accept with LU locked in a 4-4 battle on court one before the match was called.

The Cardinals got out to a strong start in singles play across all six courts. LU was battling point-for-point on each court before the Longhorns started to take control. UT picked up the first set in all six matches and the Red and White was never able to recover.

UT extended its lead to 2-0 after their straight-sets victory on court No.1. The Horns’ George Goldhoff defeated junior Michael Feucht, 6-4, 6-3, at No. 1 singles. UT grabbed a commanding 3-0 lead after Michael Riechmann defeated Hoogenboezem, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 5 singles.

The match came to an end on court two when Ortiz recorded a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Lis.