WINONA, Minn. — If there's one thing that can be said about tennis in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, it's that, no matter who the opponent is, every match has the potential to be a knockdown, drag-out, fight to the finish.

And Saint Mary's University women's tennis coach Jeff Halberg can certainly attest to that.

In Thursday's conference showdown with St. Olaf, four of the six singles matches had at least one set that went 7-5 or longer, and two of the three doubles matches were decided by an 8-6 score.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, when the dust finally settled, it was the Oles who were still standing, as they knocked off SMU 5-4.

"It was a great, great match," said Halberg. "Winning in this conference is never easy — and we proved that today."

Joni Peterson (New London, Minn.) battled to a 2-6, 7-5, 10-8 win at No. 2 singles, while Cassie Czech (Foley, Minn.) won 7-6 (5), 7-5 at No. 5 and Angie Beissel (Hastings, Minn.) won 6-1, 7-5 at No. 6. Beissel teamed with Jennifer Duffy (Chicago, Ill.) to pick up SMU's fourth win, an 8-6 decision at No. 3 doubles.

"This was a tough match, one that very easily could have gone either way," said Halberg, whose team dropped its third straight in falling to 2-5 in the MIAC and 4-8 overall. "The effort was there today, but we just didn't quite trust ourselves enough under pressure. If we can keep our heads up and learn from this match, we'll be OK."

Singles
1. Beth Erie (O) def. Nicole Hilo, 6-0, 6-2
2. Joni Peterson (SMU) def. Jennifer Ison, 2-6, 7-5, 10-8
3. Kristen Buchter (O) def. Amanda Clark, 7-6(1), 6-3
4. Jamie Brau (O) def. Allison Ast, 6-2, 6-4
5. Cassie Czech (SMU) def. Emily Eggert, 7-6(5), 7-5
6. Angie Beissel (SMU) def. Lauren Benson, 6-1, 7-5

Doubles
1. Erie/Buchter(O) def Clark/Hilo, 8-6
2. Ison/Eggert(O) def. Peterson/Czech, 8-3
3. Beissel/Jennifer Duffy(SMU) def. Yang/Michelle Wiersma, 8-6