WINONA, Minn. — Finally.

It took five years and 44 matches, but the Saint Mary's University men's tennis team finally ended their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference drought — notching their first conference win since a 7-2 win over Bethel on April 26, 1997 with a 5-4 thriller over the same Royals Thursday afternoon.

"That was a great team effort," said SMU coach Jeff Halberg. "Everyone contributed and we finally got that four-year monkey off our backs."

Geoff Granseth (Winona, Minn.), Mark Leeder (Milwaukee, Wis.) and Jeff Dobbs (Pipestone, Minn.) did their part in extracting that King Kong-sized monkey from the Cardinals' back with straight-set singles wins, while Leeder and Bryan Haville (Onalaska, Wis.) added an 8-2 win at No. 2 doubles.

But it was Dobbs and Chad Boyer (Albert Lea, Minn.) who officially rid the team of that four-year goose-egg with a hard-fought, 8-6 win at No. 3 doubles — a match the Cardinal duo had to rally from a break down twice to win.

"That was an incredible match," said Halberg, whose team improved to 1-8 in the MIAC and 6-12 overall. "The entire match was tied 4-4 and came down to that No. 3 doubles match. Jeff and Chad played outstanding and came through with the clutch points in the end.

"It was a great day for the Cardinals."

At least for the Cardinal men. SMU's women's team didn't enjoy the same success, as the Royals rolled to a 9-0 victory.

But the final score didn't dictate the closeness of the match. Jennifer Duffy (Chicago, Ill.) lost a second-set tiebreak in her No. 4 singles match, while Beth Carroll (Chicago, Ill.) dropped a three-setter at No. 5 and Dena Bing (Cannon Falls) fell 7-5 in the second set of her No. 6 singles match.

And in doubles, all three matches went the limit, with Joni Peterson (New London, Minn.)-Nicole Hilo (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Carroll-Allison Ast (Conway Springs, Kan.) losing 8-6 at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, respectively, while Bing and Angie Beissel (Hastings, Minn.) lost 8-5 at No. 3.

"It was a good match for the women," said Halberg. "We just ran out of gas against a very good team."

Singles
1. Jenny Kastner (B) d. Joni Peterson, 6-0,6-0
2. Amy Velasco (B) d. Liz Hilke, 6-0, 6-0
3. Jodi Gustafson (B) d. Allison Ast, 6-3, 6-2
4. Kim Carlson (B) d. Jennifer Duffy, 6-4, 7-6 (5)
5. Susan Johnson (B) d. Beth Carroll, 7-5, 4-6, 10-4
6. Becky Trickett (B) d. Dena Bing, 6-2, 7-5

Doubles
1. Lindsey Davis-Kastner (B) d. Peterson-Nicole Hilo, 8-6
2. Johnson-Gustafson (B) d. Ast-Carroll, 8-6
3. Velasco-Trickett (B) d. Bing-Angie Beissel, 8-5