The Gusties, however, were just a little better, as GAC continued its regular-season dominance of conference opponents, winning its 229th straight regular-season MIAC match with a 9-0 win over the Cardinals at the Winona Tennis Center.

“The guys really played quite well tonight,” said SMU coach Jeff Halberg. “Gustavus is a nationally ranked team with nationally ranked players at No. 1 and No. 3 singles as well. They are a very good team and they certainly showed that tonight. But we gave them a pretty good battle — it was some great tennis.”

Mike Lunka (Eagan, Minn.) gave sixth-ranked Amrik Donkena all he could handle at No. 1 singles, as the Cardinal freshman picked up a 7-5 victory in the opening set, but ran out of steam as Donkena rallied for a 6-1 win in the second set and completed the win with a 10-4 win in the third set.

Lunka and Donkena also slugged it out at No. 1 doubles as Lunka and Bobby Steingraeber (La Crosse, Wis.) lost in a tie-breaker to Donkena and partner Tyler Johnson, 9-8 (1).

“Mike (Lunka) played exceptionally well tonight and Bobby (Steingraeber) really raised his game a level as well,” said Halberg. “It would have been nice to win a couple of those matches, but the guys battled hard and gave it everything they had.”

The Cardinals, who fall to 1-7 in the MIAC and 9-10 overall, are back in action on Saturday, when they travel to Waverly, Iowa, for nonconference matches against Wartburg and the University of Dubuque.

Match Summary vs. Gustavus / Photo Gallery