WINONA, Minn. — For the Saint Mary's University women's tennis team, the scores were the same, the end result, however, wasn't.
The Cardinals kicked off their day Sunday with a convincing, 7-2 nonconference victory over Bemidji State at the Winona Tennis Center. And the Cardinals found themselves involved in another 7-2 decision in their second match, only this time, they came out on the short end, as Gustavus handed SMU a 7-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback.
“It was a good day of tennis all the way around,” said SMU coach
Jeff Halberg. “We played very well (against Bemidji State) and came up with another solid performance against Gustavus — (the Gusties) just had a little too much firepower for us.”
The Cardinals jumped out to a 2-1 lead after the doubles portion of their match against Bemidji State, as
Bailey Edwards (Fond du Lac, Wis.) and
Rebecca Snyder (Eden Prairie, Minn.) team for an 8-2 win at No. 1, while
Andrea Allis (Wells, Minn.) and
Samantha Franklin (Schaumburg, Ill.) were 8-4 winners at No. 3.
Edwards and Snyder added straight-set wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively, while Allis,
Killian Edwards (Fond du Lac, Wis.) and Franklin also won their singles matches in straight sets at Nos. 4, 5, 6.
Against the Gusties, Edwards and Snyder picked up where they left off, knocking off Gustavus' nationally ranked No. 1 doubles team of Sam Frank and Sierra Krebsbach 9-8 (7-5). Snyder added a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 2 singles, but that was as close as SMU would get.
“Gustavus is an outstanding team, and for Bailey and Rebecca to get that win at No. 1 doubles, that was a pretty impressive performance,” said Halberg, noting that no SMU No. 1 doubles team had ever beaten the Gusties in his coaching tenure. “Rebecca had a great match at No. 2 singles as well. I was very happy with the way we played — we gave them everything we had.”
