WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's tennis team departs for its spring trip to Hilton Head, S.C., this weekend — and it was obvious Tuesday afternoon that the Cardinals are in a big hurry to get on the road.

The Cardinals wasted little time disposing of Northwestern in their final match before they leave for the warmth of South Carolina, winning all six singles matches in straight sets en route to a 9-0 nonconference win.

"This was a great way to round things up before our spring trip," said SMU coach Jeff Halberg, whose team moved to 7-6 with the win. "We were able to shuffle the lineup a bit and get everyone in, and they all did a nice job."

SMU did not lose more than three games in any of the 12 singles sets, as Ashley Meschke (Pequot Lakes, Minn.), Lisa Thompson (Lake City, Minn.), Liz Hilke (Baraboo, Wis.), Emily Strom (Waterford, Wis.), Ann Chow (Diamond Bar, Calif.) and Annie Harala (Duluth, Minn.) all won easily. The wins for Chow at No. 5 singles and Harala at No. 6 were the first of their collegiate careers.

Thompson and Christina Tobin (Oak Park, Ill.) chipped in an 8-3 win at No. 1 doubles, while Harala and Jennifer Cochran (Winona, Minn.) were 8-4 winners at No. 2 and Strom and Chow won 8-1 at No. 3.

Singles
1. Ashley Meschke (SMU) def. Kris Eschenbacher, 6-1, 6-0
2. Lisa Thompson (SMU) def. Kayla Kelly, 6-0, 6-3
3. Liz Hilke (SMU) def. Mandy Eschenbacher, 6-2 ,6-3
4. Emily Strom (SMU) def. Emily Anderson, 6-0, 6-1
5. Ann Chow (SMU) def. Lisa Den Harteg, 6-1, 6-1
6. Annie Harala (SMU) def. Clair Johnson, 6-2, 6-2

Doubles
1. Christina Tobin/Thompson (SMU) def. Eschenbacher/Kelly, 8-3
2. Jennifer Cochran/Harala (SMU) def. Anderson/Den Harteg, 8-4
3. Strom/Chow (SMU) def. Johnson/Eschenbacher, 8-1