WAVERLY, Iowa — The ball bounced the Saint Mary's University men's tennis team's way Saturday in the Cardinals' nonconference match against the University of Dubuque, but when SMU needed a bounce or two in its second match of the day against Wartburg, the balls went flat.
The Cardinals — fueled by a pair of three-set singles wins — outlasted the University of Dubuque 7-2 in their first match of the day Saturday, but Wartburg turned the tables a bit later in the day, getting a key 9-8 win at No. 2 doubles, then collecting four straight-set singles wins en route to a 6-3 victory.
The Cardinals jumped out to a 2-1 lead after the doubles portion against the University of Dubuque, as Mike Lunka (Eagan, Minn.) and Robert Steingraeber (La Crosse, Wis.) won 8-6 at No. 1, while
Pawel Szczepkowski (Opolski, Poland) and
Steven Mino (La Crosse, Wis.) were 8-3 winners at No. 3.
Szczepkowski, Mino and
Sam Puff (Eden Prairie, Minn.) made it look easy with straight-set wins at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, while
Andrew Rangitsch (Oakdale, Minn.) and
Justin Loeffler (Winona, Minn.) needed three sets to record their wins at No. 4 and No. 6, respectively.
Rangitsch and Mino collected the Cardinals' two singles wins vs. Wartburg, as Rangitsch won 7-5, 6-1 at No. 5, while Mino was a 6-2, 6-2 winner at No. 6. Mino and Szczepkowski also chipped in an 8-5 win at No. 3 doubles.
