WINONA, Minn. — It wasn't quite as easy as Friday's 9-0 win over Northwestern, but the Saint Mary's University women's tennis team picked up its second victory in as many days Saturday, as the Cardinals rallied from a 4-3 deficit to beat Winona State 5-4 in a nonconference match at the Winona Tennis Center.
“That was a great match,” said SMU coach
Jeff Halberg. “The ladies battled from start to finish. We had the lead, we lost the lead, then we got the lead back. Those final two matches were outstanding.”
But the Warriors bounced back, winning three straight singles matches to take a 4-3 advantage.
Abby Cooper (La Crosse, Wis.) played what Halberg termed “her best collegiate match” to win a three-setter, 6-4, 0-6, 10-8 at No. 3 singles to knot the match at 4-4, leaving the Cardinals' fate in the hands — and racquet — of
Andrea Allis (Wells, Minn.) at No. 5 singles.
Allis dropped the first set, 5-7, but rallied to win the second 6-3, then outlasted WSU's Katelyn Dubbelde 10-8 in the third set to give SMU the victory.
“It was an incredible performance from the whole team — a true team win,” said Halberg. “I give Winona State credit, they were tough as nails from the opening point to the final tiebreaker. I could not be prouder of our effort today.”
Match Summary vs. Winona State
