Same opponent (Concordia), but not the same results
as Cardinal women win 3rd straight, men drop 2nd in row

WINONA, Minn. — Jeff Halberg has waited all season for his Saint Mary's University women's tennis team to fire on all cylinders.

Last Sunday afternoon, the Cardinals did just that.

The Cardinals won five of the six singles matches in straight sets, and easily swept all three doubles matches en route to a 9-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Concordia at the SMU Tennis Center.

"The ladies really put in an impressive performance," said Halberg, whose team has now won three straight — posting its second 9-0 sweep of the season. "They started off with three solid wins in doubles and then just got better and better in the singles matches.

"I knew they had this type of performance in them — it's nice to finally see it come out on the court."

Lisa Thompson (Lake City, Minn.) was the only Cardinal not to win in straight sets, as the senior rallied from one set down to beat Annie Styba 3-6, 7-6 (5), 10-6 at No. 2 singles. SMU did not lose more than four games in any of the other 10 singles sets.

"Lisa had a tough match at No. 2 singles, but she just stuck with it and battled to the win," said Halberg . "She summed up the day pretty well when she said, 'I was just too stubborn to lose, coach.'

"I couldn't have said it better."

AFTER WATCHING HIS TEAM SNEAK away with a 6-3 victory over Concordia in their MIAC match a year ago, Halberg knew that this year's match would be just as close – and could easily go either way.

Unfortunately for Halberg, he was right on the money.

Concordia, which found itself on the short end of all the close calls a year ago, turned the tables on the Cardinals this time around, opening with wins at two of the three doubles matches, then sweeping four singles matches in straight sets en route to last Saturday's 6-3 MIAC win at the SMU Tennis Center.

"Last year was a match that easily could have gone either way – we picked up a couple of hard-fought wins and that was the difference. (Saturday), it was Concordia’s turn," said Halberg. "It's not that we played that poorly, we knew it was a match against two evenly matched teams, and this time around, Concordia was the better team."

Tyler Stevenson (Neenah, Wis.) and Mark Leeder (Greenfield, Wis.) continued their winning ways for the Cardinals, as Stevenson picked up a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 12-10 victory at No. 1 singles, while Leeder had a little easier time at No. 2, beating the Cobbers’ Jordy Kamerling 7-6 (3), 6-3.

The Cardinals’ dynamic duo – both of whom improved to 10-2 in singles play with their wins Saturday – accounted for SMU's other victory against the Cobbers, as they teamed for an 8-5 win at No. 1 doubles.

"Mark and Tyler put forth a supreme effort again," said Halberg. "Concordia is a much improved team and they played very well. It was a tough loss, but I'm confident we'll be able to bounce back and get back on the winning track."