Mother Nature proves to be Cardinals' toughest opponent

WINONA, Minn. — After having their first two matches of their spring trip rained — and snowed — out, the saint Mary's University men's tennis team finally got its spring break trip off and running.

And run the Cardinals did.

SMU snapped a five-match losing streak last Wednesday, as the Cardinals rolled to a 7-2 nonconference win over Asbury College.

"It was good for the men to finally get on the court," said SMU coach Jeff Halberg, whose men's and women's squads lost their first match of the trip at Greensboro, N.C., when the snowstorm back in Winona delayed the team's trip, then had their matches vs. Grove City rained out on Tuesday. "The weather has been pretty unpredictable, so it was nice to get one in. The guys played very well — I was pleased with the performance of everyone."

That, however, was the lone bright spot for the SMU men, who followed up that 7-2 win with a heartbreaking 5-4 loss to Stevens Institute of Technology. The Cardinal women, meanwhile, closed out their spring trip with a 5-4 win over SIT.

SMU won five of the six singles matches vs, Asbury, including straight-set wins by Tyler Stevenson (Neenah, Wis.), Mark Leeder (Greenfield, Wis.), Tony Miller (Rochester, Minn.), and Ryan Kennedy (Rochester, Minn.), while Dan Fahey (Brookfield, Ill.) chipped in a three-set, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 6.

Leeder-Stevenson and Thomas Vollman (Oak Park, Ill.)-Andrew Pamperin (Menomonie, Wis.) added doubles wins.

Stevenson and Leeder picked up where they left off against SIT, as Stevenson posted a three-set, 6-4, 3-6, 10-5 win at No. 1, while Leeder added a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 2. Stevenson-Leeder also added an 8-5 win at No. 1 doubles, while Pamperin-Vollman teamed for a 9-7 win at No. 3 doubles.

After dropping matches at Nos. 1-2-3 singles, the Cardinal women bounced back with wins by Becky Newby (Brookfield, Wis.), Aubrey Hirsch (Topeka, Kan.) and Lindsay Johnson (Rogers, Minn.) at four, five and six singles.

Ann Leeder (Greenfield, Wis.) and Hirsch tallied an 8-2 win at No. 2 doubles and Newby-Johnson locked up the victory with an 8-3 win at No. 3.

The SMU women had opened play in Hilton Head, S.C., with a commanding 8-1 victory over West Virginia State.

The Cardinals swept all three doubles matches and won five of the six singles matches — all in straight sets — en route to the win that snapped SMU's four-match losing streak.

“It's wasn't a really difficult match,” said Halberg. “What it does is remind us of how difficult our own conference is.
 
“It's reassuring that we're a good tennis team that plays in a tough conference.”
 
Ashley Meschke (Pequot Lakes, Minn.), Ann Leeder (Greenfield, Wis.), Newby, Hirsch and Jenny Pater (Stillwater, Minn.) all picked up straight-set singles wins. SMU's bid for a clean sweep was halted when Michele Clarke (Omaha, Neb.) lost a heartbreaking, 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 decision at No. 2 singles.

Meschke-Clarke, Leeder-Hirsch and Annie Harala (Duluth, Minn.)-Johnson breezed to easy wins in doubles.

"This was a good win," said Halberg. "It was nice for us to get back on the winning track."