Box Score

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's tennis team entered Thursday's nonconference match against Martin Luther with a bit of a chip on their shoulder.

A three-match losing streak will do that to a person.

Fortunately for SMU — and unfortunately for the Knights — the Cardinals took out their frustrations on the visitors, as they won every match by straight sets en route to a 9-0 victory at the SMU Tennis Center.

"The guys played well," understated SMU coach Jeff Halberg. "We were in a bit of a slump the last couple of matches, so it was good to see us bust out the way we did."

SMU lost just five games in winning the three doubles matches to open a 3-0 advantage, then cruised to the six singles wins without losing more than four games in the 12 sets — including a 6-0, 6-0 triumph by Thomas Vollman (Oak Park, Ill.) at No. 4 and a 6-1, 6-0 victory by Adam Solseth (Shakopee, Minn.) at No. 3.

"We needed a match like this," said Halberg, whose team returns to action April 1, playing host to Bethany Lutheran in a nonconference match. "The guys have been playing pretty well without much reward. Today, they played very well, and the final score showed it."