Match Summary | GameDay Preview

WINONA, Minn. — A year ago, the Saint Mary's University men's tennis team picked up what coach Jeff Halberg called one of the biggest wins of his coaching tenure, as the Cardinals rallied from a 4-3 deficit to beat St. Olaf 5-4.

Friday evening, the two teams squared off again, and, unfortunately for Halberg, there was not late-match rally — or upset victory — as St. Olaf handed the Cardinals a 6-3 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Winona Tennis Center.

“I'm happy with the way the guys battled — this was a tough match that really could have gone either way,” said Halberg. “We had a lead for most of the match at No. 2 doubles and (St. Olaf) was able to rally late. We dug ourselves a bit of a hole losing two of the three doubles matches and just never could recover.

“This was a match we certainly could have won, but give St. Olaf credit, they hung tough — they are a good team.”

After falling behind 2-1 following the three doubles matches — with Tim Wolford (Maple Grove, Minn.) and Steve Mino (Austin, Minn.) teaming for an 8-4 win at No. 3 — the Cardinals found themselves involved in three three-set matches among the six singles matches.

Mike Lunka (Eagan, Minn.) and Andrew Rangitsch (Oakdale, Minn.) each rallied from a set down to pick up wins, as Lunka posted a 1-6, 6-4, 10-5 victory at No. 1, while Rangitsch won a marathon against St. Olaf's Jeff Hudson, 5-7, 6-4, 13-11. Wolford also went the distance at No. 2 singles, before falling to the Oles' John Wight, 6-0, 2-6, 10-4.

The Cardinals are right back in action on Saturday, traveling to Jackson, Wis., for a pair of nonconference matches against Milwaukee School of Engineering and Concordia-Wisconsin, before heading to New Berlin, Wis., for a 10 a.m. match on Sunday.