Match Summary vs. MSOE

MILWAUKEE, Wis.  — It took four-and-a-half hours, but the end result was worth the wait for the Saint Mary's University men's tennis team.

The Cardinals rallied from a 4-2 deficit with three singles matches to play to slip past Milwaukee School of Engineering 5-4 in a nonconference match Friday evening.

“It was a see-saw match full of four-and-a-half hours of twists and turns,” said SMU coach Jeff Halberg, whose team improved to 2-2 overall with the victory. “It was a really run match to watch and a great way for the players to go into (February) break.”

SMU jumped out to a 2-1 lead after the three doubles matches, with Jack Schway (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Justin Loeffler (Winona, Minn.) winning 8-3 at No. 1, while Pawel Szczepkowski (Opolskie, Poland) and Steven Mino (Austin, Minn.) collected an 8-6 victory at No. 3.

The Raiders then took control, winning at No. 1, 2 and 4 singles, including James Kutill's 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 win over Andy Weigman (Maple Plain, Minn.) at No. 4.

From there, it was all SMU, as Schway, David Reckase (La Crosse, Wis.) and Mino) earned singles wins to seal the Cardinals' victory. Getting that win, however, was anything but easy, as Schway picked up a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 3, while Reckase and Mino both went three sets — with Reckase winning 5-7, 6-3, 10-7 at No. 5 and Mino taking a 1-6, 6-3, 13-11 triumph at No. 6.

“We played some great tennis,” said Halberg. “It was good to see the guys battle back after falling behind 4-2. The guys showed a lot of heart and determination.”