Box Score
WINONA, Minn. — The final scores say "easy victories" for the Saint Mary's University men's and women's tennis teams.
Jeff Halberg, however, says otherwise.
There was nothing "easy" about the Cardinals' 7-2 and 6-3 victories Saturday afternoon at the SMU Tennis Center.
"It's so nice to finally get that first (conference) win," said Halberg, whose men improved to 1-2 in the MIAC with their 7-2 win over Bethel, while the Cardinal women moved to 1-3 with their 6-3 triumph. "We knew how important it was to get off to a good start today — and that's just what we did."
The Cardinal men swept all three doubles matches to take a commanding 3-0 advantage heading into the six singles matches, while the SMU women picked up wins in two of the three doubles matches — ending an 0-for-9 season-opening doubles run.
"It was good to see us play well in doubles, especially on the women's side, where we've really been struggling there all season," said Halberg. "Getting those big leads after the doubles really put us in the driver's seat."
But the road their first conference wins wasn't without its potholes.
Tyler Stevenson (Neenah, Wis.) dropped his first set at No. 1 singles, then fought off five match points in the second set before posting a hard-earned 6-7, 7-6, 10-8 win over Bethel's Chris Scheevel.
Adam Solseth (Shakopee, Minn.) found himself in a similar position at No. 4, where he battled back from a 1-5 first-set deficit to beat Steve Torres 7-5, 1-6, 10-8.
Walter Mannino (Chicago, Ill.) and
Thomas Vollman (Oak Park, Ill.) found the going a little smoother, winning in straight sets at No. 2 and No. 5 singles, respectively.
The SMU women's win wasn't quite as nerve-wracking, as Ashley Meschke (Pequot Lakes, Minn.), Val Meschke (Pequot Lakes, Minn.), Becky Newby (Brookfield, Wis.) and Colleen Radermacher (Belgrade, Minn.) notched straight-set singles wins en route to the win.
"We knew coming in that this was a match we had a good chance of winning — but we couldn't afford to take Bethel lightly," said Halberg. "There were some great matches that could have easily gone either way. Everyone came to play and really did a great job."
