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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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| 2007 Records: Men: 1-0 MIAC, 1-3 Overall Women: 2-3 MIAC, 4-3 Overall |
| Last Week's Results: UW-La Crosse 9, SMU men 0 / Details SMU women 8, Bethel 1 / Details Concordia 7, SMU men 2 / Details SMU women 8, Concordia 1 / Details Gustavus 9, SMU women 0 / Details |
| Upcoming Events: Fri., March 16: SMU women vs. St. Catherine, 5:00 Sat., March 17: SMU men at Gustavus, 6:00 Sun., March 18: SMU men at St. John's, 3:00 Sun., March 18: SMU women at St. Ben's, Noon |
Cardinal men come up empty vs. UW-L, Concordia
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Val Meschke
Six-game win streak snapped vs. Gustavus |
Gustavus, however, knocked them right back down to earth.
The Gusties, who entered Sunday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match ranked No. 13 in the nation, flexed their muscles and put a quick end to SMU's two-match winning streak with a 9-0 conference victory.
"We ran into a buzz saw (against Gustavus), no doubt about that," said SMU coach Jeff Halberg, whose team had won four of its last five matches heading into Sunday's showdown vs. the Gusties. "(Gustavus) is ranked No. 13 for a reason — they are a good team."
Good? That's an understatement.
Gustavus dropped just 12 games in the sweeping the six singles matches in straight sets. Shannon Cooney (Eden Prairie, Minn.) had the most success vs. the high-powered Gusties, dropping a 6-4, 6-0 decision at No. 1 singles, while no other Cardinal won more than one game in any set.
"The ladies have been playing very well lately — our wins over Bethel and Concordia were outstanding performances," said Halberg. "It's not that we played that poorly (against Gustavus), they are just such a strong team.
"I'm happy with where we are right now," added Halberg, whose women moved to 2-3 in the MIAC and 4-3 overall. "I'm sure the ladies are a little disappointed with the outcome, but we'll put it behind us and focus on the future."
THE WEEK WASN'T QUITE AS MEMORABLE for the Cardinal men, who dropped back-to-back matches to UW-La Crosse (9-0) and Concordia (7-2).
"Concordia's men's team is very good, and I thought we gave them a pretty good run for their money," Halberg said. "So many of the matches we played were just battles from start to finish. It would have been nice to pick up a win, but I was very pleased with the way the guys played."
Tony Miller (Rochester, Minn.) and David Reckase (La Crosse, Wis.) were the lone winners for the SMU men, with Miller posting a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 5 singles, while Reckase was a 6-0, 6-1 winner at No. 6.
"The guys are playing hard and giving their opponents a ream battle,' Halberg said. "We just haven't been able to get over the hump."