WINONA, Minn. — Like any other collegiate coach, Jeff Halberg hates to lose.

Yet, when the final point was played Thursday evening against cross-town rival Winona State, and his Saint Mary's University men's tennis team had come out on the short end of a 5-4 nonconference decision, it was tough for Halberg to feel too disappointed.

"If there is such a thing as a good loss, this would be it," said Halberg, whose team opened the match by nearly swept the three doubles matches — getting wins from Tyler Stevenson (Neenah, Wis.) and Mark Leeder (Greenfield, Wis.) at No. 1, and from Tony Miller (Rochester, Minn.) and Andrew Pamperin (Menomonie, Wis.) at No. 3 — only to drop four of the six singles matches. "I think if we had come up with the sweep of the doubles matches, things might have gone our way.

"As it was, WSU was able to hold us off down the stretch — even though it did come right down to the wire at No. 5 singles," continued Halberg, noting that Adam Solseth (Shakopee, Minn.) dropped a 6-2, 7-6 (3) decision in that deciding No. 5 singles match. "Anytime you lose it's tough, but I certainly can't complain about the effort that our guys put forth. It was an intense match from start to finish, and unfortunately, we just came up a big short."

Along with their win at No. 1 double, Stevenson and Leeder also picked up SMU's two lone singles wins, with Stevenson winning 6-2, 6-4 at No. 1, while Leeder was a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) winner at No. 2.

Singles
1. Tyler Stevenson (SMU) def. Josh Malwitz, 6-2, 6-4
2. Mark Leeder (SMU) def. Dan Clarke, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3)
3. Ryan Savakoul (WSU) def. Tony Miller, 6-3, 6-2
4. Kyle Buchmeier (WSU) def. Bryan Haville, 6-2, 6-1
5. Jon Gould (WSU) def. Adam Solseth, 6-2, 7-6 (3)
6. Ryan Zilka (WSU) def. Dan Fahey, 6-2, 6-2

Doubles
1. Stevenson/Leeder (SMU) def. Malwitz/Clarke, 8-4
2. Savakoul/Zilka (WSU) def. Haville/Solseth, 9-8 (7)
3. Miller/Andrew Pamperin (SMU) def. Buchmeier/Scott Hessian, 8-5