ST. PETER, Minn. — It was the perfect way for Saint Mary's University of Minnesota's Megan Vandenberg (De Pere, Wis.) to kick off her tennis season.
 
Literally.
 
The Cardinal junior capped a perfect run through her singles flight at the Gustavus Invitational on Saturday with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Luther's Claire Christian in the championship match.
 
Vandenberg—who did not drop a game in winning her first two matches on Friday, opened the day Saturday with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Northwestern's Nikki Edin in the semifinals.
 
But Vandenberg wasn't satisfied with just a singles title, as she teamed with Julia Boeve (St. James, Minn.) to beat Laura Martin/Lauren Ihle 8-4 to reach the section final. In that final, however, the Cardinal duo came up short, falling 8-6 to Wartburg's Elizabeth Rucker/Marissa Buresh.
 
Haley Jorgensen (Fallon, Nev.) and Sheyenne Bauer  (Cannon Falls, Minn.) were not as fortunate in their Saturday doubles match, falling 8-3.
 
Kirsten Hoffmann (Apple Valley, Minn.) and Laura Sonday (West. St. Paul, Minn.) reached the final in their USTA/ITA doubles match, but fell to Cornell's Shashanna Moll/Sophie Robertson 9-7.
 
The Cardinals are now off until Jan. 29, when they kick off their 2016 season with a nonconference match against Bethany Lutheran at the Winona Tennis Center.