Match Summary | GameDay Preview

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University men's tennis team picked up a hard-fought, 7-2 nonconference win over Concordia (Wis.) Friday evening at the Paley Tennis Center.

“Concordia is a tough team — they are the defending Northern Athletic Conference champions,” said SMU coach Jeff Halberg. “It was a hard-fought match that was a lot closer than the final score might indicate.”

The Cardinals jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the three doubles matches, with Michael Lunka (Eagan, Minn.) and Bobby Steingraeber (La Crosse, Wis.) fighting off six match points at 5-7, before coming away with a 9-7 victory. Sam Puff (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Andrew Rangitsch (Oakdale, Minn.) chipped in an 8-6 win at No. 2, while Gavin Smith (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and Justin Loeffler (Winona, Minn.) were 8-6 winners at No. 3.

The tightness of the match continued in singles, where Lunka and Puff were straight-set winners at No. 1 and No. 3, while Smith and Loeffler both needed three sets to pick up wins at No. 5 and No. 6. Smith opened with a 7-6 (9-7) win in his first set, before dropping the second 5-7 and winning the third 10-4, while Loeffler rallied from a set down to win 3-6, 6-1, 10-7.

The Cardinals, who improve their overall record to 4-2, are back in action on Saturday, traveling to Oshkosh, Wis., for a 3 p.m. nonconference match against Ripon.