Morningside Match | Luther Match | GameDay Preview

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University and Morningside (Iowa) men's tennis teams squared off for the first time in program history last year, with the Cardinals coming away with a 6-2 win in its final match of their spring trip to Orlando, Fla.

Saturday morning, the Cardinals and Mustangs squared off in Round 2 of their nonconference series — with much the same SMU success.

The Cardinals jumped out to a 2-1 lead after doubles play and never looked back in handing the Mustangs a 6-3 nonconference setback at the Winona Tennis Center.

Unfortunately, the Cardinals couldn't complete their nonconference sweep Saturday, as Luther dealt SMU a 9-0 defeat.

"We came out strong in the morning (against Morningside)," said SMU coach Jeff Halberg. "Luther was just too deep for us — they deserved their national ranking."

SMU made it look easy in doubles play against Morningside, as Gavin Smith (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and Andrew Johnson (Rochester, Minn.) teamed for an 8-1 win at No. 1, while Blake Olmscheid (Farmington, Minn.) and Warren Lawrenz (Rochester, Minn.) equaled that feat at No. 3.

The Cardinals added four wins in the six singles matches, including three-set victories by Smith at No. 3 and Garen Merritt () at No. 6 to seal the win. Both Smith and Merritt won the first set in their singles matches, before dropping the second set 6-4. Smith added a 12-10 victory in the third set to lock up his win, while Merritt was a 10-1 winner in the third set to clinch his victory

Luther swept the three doubles matches against the Cardinals, including a 9-8 win over Lawrenz-Olmscheid at No. 3, while sweeping all six singles matches in straight sets.

The Cardinals (9-3 overall) are right back in action on Sunday, as SMU hosts Concordia in a 9:30 a.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match at the Winona Tennis Center.