Lamar sports information

BEAUMONT — The two-time defending Southland Conference Champion Lamar men’s tennis team will open its NCAA tournament Friday against No. 7-seed Baylor. The match will begin at 1 p.m. at the Hurd Tennis Center.

The Cardinals (17-7) advanced to the NCAA championship tournament for a second consecutive season by winning the 2017 Southland Conference tournament, defeating SLC co-champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the finals. While the Cardinals are making their second-straight appearance in the championships, Baylor (21-7) is making its 20th consecutive appearance.

The Bears enter the postseason following a 4-2 loss to Texas Tech in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championships. The Bears open the tournament having won eight of their last 12 outings, but has dropped four of its last five. Baylor’s lone win during that stretch came at Texas on April 12.