Men's Match Summary / Women's Match Summary
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LAKEVILLE, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University tennis teams ran into a buzz-saw in the form of conference power Carleton Sunday afternoon, as the Knights handed the Cardinals a pair of MIAC setbacks.

The Carleton men — winners of the MIAC regular-season title and an NCAA Tournament participant a year ago — blanked the Cardinals 9-0, while the Knight women — who have finished in the top three of the MIAC women's standings 16 times since joining the conference in 1983 — dealt SMU an 8-1 setback.

"We ran into a buzz-saw today," said SMU coach Jeff Halberg. "Both (Carleton) teams are nationally ranked and we found out why first-hand — they are very good.

"We gave it a game battle, but they were just too much for us."

The Knights picked up straight-set wins in all six men's singles matches, while dropping 10 games in the three doubles matches. Mike Lunka (Eagan, Minn.) and Bobby Steingraeber (La Crosse, Wis.) put up a gallant fight at No. 1 doubles, falling to Carleton's Dan Vollman-Paul Cooper, 8-6.

On the women's side, Abby Voigt (Burnsville, Minn.)-Grace Zachman (Elk River, Minn.) picked up the Cardinals' win, outlasting the Knights' Sarah Thappa-Felicity Flesher 9-8 at No. 3 doubles.

Both Cardinal teams are back in action on Saturday. The SMU men square off against St. Thomas in an MIAC match at noon, while the Cardinal women face Northwestern at 8:30 a.m. and St. Thomas at 7:30 p.m., with all matches played at Lifetime Fitness in Lakeville, Minn.