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Shorthanded Cardinals can't keep pace with Royals in 8-1 setback
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — You would think that, following a season-ending 8-1 loss to Bethel, Saint Mary's University men's tennis coach Jeff Halberg would be disappointed in his team's performance.
Just the opposite.
Halberg couldn't be prouder of his squad.
"This team has been battling through injury after injury, and yet, every day they step on the court and give it everything they've got — and today was no different," said Halberg, noting that the Cardinals squared off against the conference's No. 3 team without two of their top singles players — Steve Grundhoefer (St. Paul, Minn.) and Tom Vollman (Oak Park, Ill.). "It's tough enough to play a team as talented as Bethel when you are at full strength. Without Steve and Tom in the lineup, it made it that much tougher."
Steve Clements (La Crosse, Wis.) picked up the Cardinals' lone win, posting a hard-fought, 6-4, 1-6, 10-8 win at No. 2 singles.
"I couldn't be prouder of the effort this group put forth," said Halberg. "We couldn't seem to shake the injury bug all year — it was one nagging injury after another. But even shorthanded, this was a great match, a great way for us to end the season. I know it's a cliche, but this match was definitely closer than the final score."