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WINONA, Minn. — There would be no “jet-lag” for the Saint Mary's University men's and women's tennis teams, as the Cardinals — playing in their first matches since their spring trip to Orlando, Fla. — swept Hamline in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play Friday at the Winona Tennis Center.

The Cardinal men jumped out to a 2-1 lead after the doubles portion of their match with the Pipers and outlasted HU in singles play — in which five of the six matches went three sets — en route to a 6-3 victory.

The SMU women, meanwhile, used a 3-0 showing in doubles to propel them to their first conference win of the season, an 8-1 victory over the Pipers.

“The guys match was pretty intense — with a lot of highs and lows,” said SMU coach Jeff Halberg. “It wasn't necessarily our best tennis, but we just would not be denied.

“The women played a very solid match,” Halberg added. “We spent a lot of time this week in practice on our doubles play — we wanted to make sure to get off to a good start, and that's exactly what we did tonight.

“I'm very proud of both teams' effort tonight.”

The doubles teams of Michael Lunka (Eagan, Minn.)-Bobby Steingraeber (La Crosse, Wis.) and Andrew Rangitsch (Oakdale, Minn.)-Collin Kaczorowski (Suamico, Wis.) got the SMU men out to a 2-1 lead, and Lunka, Sam Puff (Eden Prairie, Minn.), Gavin Smith (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and Kaczorowski added singles wins — with Puff's 6-2, 7-5 win at No. 2 the only one that didn't go three sets.

Lunka recorded a 6-1, 6-7, 12-10 marathon win at No. 1, while Smith and Kaczorowski both rallied from first-set losses to win at No. 5 and No. 6.

The Cardinal women dropped just five games in sweeping the three doubles matches vs. the Pipers, as Kirsten Hoffman (Apple Valley, Minn.)-Katie Krull (Rochester, Minn.) won 8-3 at No. 1, while Lexi Felten (Waukesha, Wis.)-Grace Zachman (Elk River, Minn.) were 8-2 winners at No. 2 and Deanne Webber (Reedsburg, Wis.)-Lindsey Reinisch (Hastings, Minn.) added an 8-0 win at No. 3.

The Cardinals then completed the victory with straight-set wins from Reinisch, Webber, Krull, Rachel Luetmer (Loretto, Minn.) and Leanne Cleveland (La Crosse).

Both teams are back in action on Saturday, as the Cardinals travel to St. Paul, Minn., for a pair of conference matches against St. Thomas.