Gustavus too much for Cardinals to handle in 9-0 setback

WINONA, Minn. — Tyler Stevenson (Neenah, Wis.) and Mark Leeder (Greenfield, Wis.) entered last Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against Gustavus among the best doubles teams in the region.

In fact, the Saint Mary's University doubles tandem was ranked No. 11 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings.

Against the Gusties, however, that ranking wasn't much of a help.

Stevenson and Leeder dropped just their second doubles match of the season, falling to the Gusties' Jesse Brauer-Ben Lundell 8-1.

And, unfortunately for the Cardinals, that loss was a sign of things to come as Gustavus did not lose more than five games in any of the three doubles matches, and swept all six singles matches in straight sets en route to the 9-0 victory.

Stevenson, who was also ranked among the top 25 at No. 1 singles, was no match for Lundell, failing to win a game in falling 6-0, 6-0, while Brauer completed GAC's sweep of the Cardinals' top two with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Leeder at No. 2 singles.

"The guys gave a solid effort (against Gustavus), but they were just too deep for us," said SMU coach Jeff Halberg. "Tyler had a tough day, but as reliable as he has been for us, even he is due to have a tough day now and then."

Adam Solseth (Shakopee, Minn.) won four games in each set of his 6-4, 6-4 loss to Griffin Foley at No. 3 singles, while Tony Miller (Rochester, Minn.) and Thomas Vollman (Oak Park, Ill.) were both beaten 6-3, 6-3 at No. 4 and No. 5 singles, respectively. GAC's Alex Horton completed the Gusties' sweep with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Dan Fahey (Brookfield, Ill.) at No. 6 singles.

"We have to put this loss behind us," said Halberg. "It wasn't our best effort, but now we have to focus on what lies ahead — hopefully we can make a positive turn as we head into our matches in Hilton Head (S.C.)."