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WINONA, Minn. — Less than 24 hours earlier, Saint Mary's University men's tennis coach Jeff Halberg watched as his Cardinals came from behind to win all three doubles matches en route to a 5-4 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Bethel.

On Saturday, Saint John's gave Halberg and the Cardinals a taste of their own medicine, as the Johnnies' No. 2 doubles team of Zack Shriwise and Connor Rust rallied from a 6-1 deficit to beat Sam Puff (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Andrew Rangitsch (Oakdale, Minn.) 9-8.

It was a win that gave SJU a 2-1 lead — an advantage the Cardinals would never recover from, as the Johnnies dealt SMU an 8-1 conference setback at the Winona Tennis Center.

“It was a tough loss,” Halberg said. “Friday night, we were able to come from behind to win all three of our doubles matches, and today, Saint John's turned the tables on us.

“Give (SJU) credit, they plated a great match.”

Michael Lunka (Eagan, Minn.) and Bobby Steingraeber (La Crosse, Wis.) continued their winning ways, as the junior duo improved to 13-0 on the season with an 8-5 victory at No. 1 doubles.

That, however, would be SMU's only win, as the Johnnies padded their 2-1 lead after the doubles play by sweeping the six singles matches. Puff, who had his nine-match singles win streak snapped on Friday, opened his No. 3 singles match with a 6-4 win, but dropped the next two sets 7-6 and 10-7.

Puff's second-set tiebreaker was one of three singles tiebreakers — and the Cardinals came up empty in all three, as Lunka fell 7-6, 6-1 at No. 1, and Steingraeber dropped a 6-3, 7-6 decision at No. 2.

The Cardinals (1-1 MIAC, 8-5 overall) are back in action next Friday, hosting Gustavus in a 6:30 p.m. conference match at the Winona Tennis Center.