Box Score

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's tennis team got off on the wrong foot in its nonconference match against Luther Saturday afternoon.

The Cardinals dropped all three doubles matches in rather convincing fashion, and Luther never let SMU regain any of the momentum as the Norse handed Saint Mary's its second straight loss, a 7-2 decision at the SMU Tennis Center.

"I knew this match would be a tough challenge — Luther has really stepped things up a notch over last year," said Halberg. "Their doubles teams were outstanding and they jumped out to that quick 3-0 lead that we never recovered from."

The Cardinals did pick up a pair of singles wins at No. 1 and No. 2 — but it wasn't easy. Tyler Stevenson (Neenah, Wis.) needed three sets to dispose of Marin Niewiadomski 6-3, 3-6, 10-1 at No. 1, while Mark Leeder (Greenfield, Wis.) outlasted Luther's Jono Martin, 7-6 (12), 7-5.

That, however, was as close as SMU would get as Luther won the final five singles matches in straight sets.

"Tyler and Mark played great tennis — Mark's match alone took more than two-and-a-half hours," said Halberg, whose team had opened the weekend with a 5-4 loss to St. Olaf. "I was very pleased with the effort that I saw — especially in the singles. Luther was just too much for us."