Sunday afternoon, the Cardinals experienced the agony of defeat, as both teams came up short in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matches against Concordia.

The Cardinal men, hobbled by injuries and illness, couldn't match the power of the Cobbers, falling 8-1, while the SMU women dropped a heartbreaker to Concordia, 5-4.

“It was a tough, tough day,” said SMU coach Jeff Halberg. “The guys ran into a very talented Concordia team, and even had we been 100 percent healthy, it would have been a real battle, but with the injuries and illnesses, we just couldn't match up.

“On the women's side, it was a heartbreaking loss,” Halberg added. “It was a tough match to lose — a match we probably should have won, but we just didn't get the job done.”

Bailey Edwards (Fond du Lac, Wis.) and Rebecca Snyder (Eden Prairie, Minn.) combined for three of the SMU women's four wins, as the two collected straight-set singles wins at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, then teamed for an 8-6 win at No. 1 doubles. Andrea Allis (Wells, Minn.) accounted for the Cardinals' other win, recording a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 5 singles.

“We had our chances,” Halberg said of the women's match, noting that Killian Edwards (Fond du Lac, Wis.) won her first set at No. 6 singles, but came up short, 4-6, 6-4, 10-7, while the No. 3 doubles team of Abby Cooper (La Crosse, Wis.) and Abby Voigt (Burnsville, Minn.) lost a 9-8 (7-4) decision at No. 3 doubles. “It was one of those matches where we could have used a break to go our way, and it just didn't.”

Michael Lunka (Eagan, Minn.) and Robert Steingraeber (La Crosse, Wis.) accounted for the SMU men's lone win, as the duo teamed up for an 8-6 win at No. 1 doubles.

The Cardinal men are back in action on Tuesday, when they travel to St. Paul, Minn., for a nonconference match against Northwestern, before both teams head to Orlando, Fla., for a week of matches and training.