Jan. 14, 2005

TULSA, Okla. - The Lamar men's tennis team kicks off the 2005 spring season in Oklahoma, taking on the University of Central Oklahoma and the University of Tulsa in a pair of non-conference matches this weekend.

LU opens play on Friday at 5 p.m. in a neutral site match against UCO. The Cardinals then play Tulsa at 5 p.m. on Saturday in TU's Michael D. Case Tennis Center.

Fifth-year head coach David Wong returns five players from last season's 5-16 squad. Senior Dean Clower, a native of Broken Arrow, Okla., posted the team's best record last season with a 14-7 singles mark. He also went 3-2 in Southland Conference play.

Clower and teammate Ignacio Melus, a senior from Arica, Chile, return as the top doubles tandem for the Cardinals after posted a 9-9 record in the spring of 2004. The pair played all 18 matches at the No. 1 spot and finished league play with a 2-3 record.

The weekend matches will be two of five January contests and the first pair in a 21-duel match schedule. Lamar continues play on Mon., Jan. 17 with a stop in Dallas to face SMU.