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WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University men's tennis coach Jeff Halberg expected Sunday's nonconference match against St. Scholastica to go right down to the wire.

After all, the two teams battled to a 5-4 decision a year ago — with the Cardinals escaping with the upper hand.

How right he was.

For the second year in a row, the Cardinals and Saints battled to a 5-4 outcome Sunday afternoon at the Winona Tennis Center. Unfortunately for Halberg and the Cardinals, it was the Saints who came out on top this time around.

“We knew coming in that this was going to be a battle right to the end,” said Halberg. “It went back and forth all match and came right down to the final singles match.

“(St. Scholastica) just had that little bit more in the end.”

The Cardinals opened with wins in two of the three doubles matches, as Michael Lunka (Eagan, Minn.) and Bobby Steingraeber (La Crosse, Wis.) cruised to an 8-1 win at No. 1 and Sam Puff (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Andrew Rangitsch (Oakdale, Minn.) added an 8-5 victory at No. 2.

Lunka and Puff also picked up singles wins — both needing three sets to earn the win. Lunka outlasted Jake Englestad 2-6, 6-4, 10-3 at No. 1, while Puff rallied from a set down to collect a 3-6, 6-4, 10-3 triumph at No. 3. Steingraeber had his season-opening four-match singles winning streak snapped, as CSS' James Mack dealt the SMU junior a 7-6, 6-3 setback at No. 2.

“I thought we played a pretty solid match,” Halberg said. “St. Scholastica is a talented squad and it was a great collegiate match all the way around.”

The Cardinals (3-2 overall) are back in action next Friday and Saturday, traveling to Concordia (Wis.) for a 7 p.m. match in Jackson, Wis., before heading to Ripon, Wis., for a 3 p.m. nonconference match against Ripon on Saturday.