ST. PAUL, Minn. — So close.

So very close.

But not quite close enough.

The Saint Mary's University women's tennis team gave Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival St. Thomas all it could handle Thursday evening, but the Cardinals it wasn't quite enough as SMU — despite forcing four of the six singles matches to at least a tie-breaker — dropped an 8-1 decision to the Tommies.

"It was a great match," said SMU coach Jeff Halberg. "I thought we played very well and had some great battles — we just couldn't get over the hump."

Becky Newby (Brookfield, Wis.) picked up the lone win for SMU, posting a 6-4, 6-7, 10-6 win at No. 5 singles. Lisa Thompson (Lake City, Minn.) and Angie Beissel (Hastings, Minn.) forced their matches at No. 2 and No. 6 singles, respectively, into a third set, but both came out on the short end, while Ashley Meschke (Pequot Lakes, Minn.) dropped a hard-fought 6-3, 7-6 decision at No. 1.

"It's tough to lose like that, but we were in every match, which means a break here or there … it was a lot close match than the final score indicated," said Halberg, whose team dropped to 1-1 overall with the conference-opening loss. "It's still early in the season, but I like the effort that I am seeing."