Box Score

WINONA, Minn. — After watching his team sneak away with a 6-3 victory over Concordia in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match a year ago, Saint Mary's University men's tennis coach Jeff Halberg knew that this year's match would be just as close – and could easily go either way.

Unfortunately for Halberg, he was right on the money.

Concordia, which found itself on the short end of all the close calls a year ago, turned the tables on the Cardinals this time around, opening with wins at two of the three doubles matches, then sweeping four singles matches in straight sets en route to Saturday's 6-3 MIAC win at the SMU Tennis Center.

"Last year was a match that easily could have gone either way – we picked up a couple of hard-fought wins and that was the difference. Today, it was Concordia's turn," said Halberg. "It's not that we played that poorly, we knew it was a match against two evenly matched teams, and today, Concordia was the better team."

Tyler Stevenson (Neenah, Wis.) and Mark Leeder (Greenfield, Wis.) continued their winning ways for the Cardinals, as Stevenson picked up a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 12-10 victory at No. 1 singles, while Leeder had a little easier time at No. 2, beating the Cobbers' Jordy Kamerling 7-6 (3), 6-3.

The Cardinals' dynamic duo – both of whom improved to 10-2 in singles play with their wins Saturday – accounted for SMU's other victory against the Cobbers, as they teamed for an 8-5 win at No. 1 doubles.

"Mark and Tyler put forth a supreme effort again today," said Halberg. "Concordia is a much improved team and they played very well today. It was a tough loss, but I'm confident we'll be able to bounce back and get back on the winning track."