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Cardinal Roster
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Men's Schedule
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Men's Statistics
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Women's Schedule
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Women's Statistics
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| 2005-2006 Records: Men: 3-6 MIAC, 10-13 Overall Women: 4-6 MIAC, 12-9 Overall |
| Upcoming Events: Sat., Feb. 4: Carleton at SMU women, 10 a.m. Sat., Feb. 4: Carleton at SMU men, 4 p.m. Sun., Feb. 5: Carroll at SMU men, 10 a.m. Sun., Feb. 5: UW-L at SMU men, 4 p.m. |
make a serious charge up the conference ladder
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Who's Hot?
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Tyler
Stevenson 2-time All-MIAC pick |
Not as long as Gustavus and Carleton are in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Take those two teams out of the equation, however, and Halberg likes his teams' chances.
"Our conference is so tough," said Halberg. "Top to bottom, it's got to be one of the toughest around, and Gustavus and Carleton are definitely the cream of the crop — they are both so deep and talented.
"After that, it's going to be a wide-open race — and I think we'll be right there in the thick of it."
That's because both the Cardinal men's and women's teams are deeper than they have been in a long time.
"We have a lot of new faces on both teams, but we've also got a lot of very talented players," said Halberg. "We had so many close matches last year that could have gone either way, and we weren't able to convert many of those into wins.
"Hopefully we can turn that around this year."
The Cardinal men will have to complete that turnaround without All-MIAC and MIAC Arthur Ashe Award winner Mark Leeder, who has jumped from No. 2 singles player to No. 2 coach.
"We're going to miss Mark on the court — his work ethic, heart and desire were unbelievable," said Halberg of Leeder, who posted a 19-4 singles record and teamed with Stevenson to go 17-5 at No. 1 doubles. "But having him as an assistant is going to be a real plus."
Another plus is the return of two-time All-MIAC performer Tyler Stevenson (Neenah, Wis.), who has gone 43-13 in his three years at the Cardinals' No. 1 singles spot.
"Tyler is, without a doubt, one of the best SMU has ever had," said Halberg of Stevenson, who is one of four seniors — along with Andrew Pamperin (Menomonie, Wis.), Dan Fahey (Brookfield, Ill.) and Dustin Kresen (Riverside, Ill.) — on this year's squad. "You can always count on (Stevenson) to give you a great effort. He's about as close as you can come to getting a guaranteed win every time he takes the court."
Halberg is also counting on newcomers Walter Mannino (Chicago, Ill.) and Brian Robinson (Cannon Falls, Minn.) to strengthen the Cardinals' lineup.
"We've got some people who are going to turn a few heads this year," said Halberg, whose women's team will be led by senior Anne Harala (Duluth, Minn.) and juniors Ashley Meschke (Pequot Lakes, Minn.) and Ann Leeder (Greenfield, Wis.). "We have a great group of freshmen coming in taht will really give us a boost.
"It may take a little while to put all the pieces together, but I really think that we have the ability to win a lot of matches this year."