WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's tennis coach Jeff Halberg knew heading into Sunday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against Concordia that his Cardinals were going to be in for a battle.
 
And how right he was.
 
The Cardinals rallied from a 4-2 deficit, but in the end, came up just short, falling to the Cobbers 5-4 at the Winona Tennis Center.
 
"We came so, so close," Halberg said. "We lost a very close match at No. 3 doubles and fell behind 4-2, but the guys roared back and came up one super-breaker short.
 
"I'm very proud of the effort they put forth—it was a great match."
 
Concordia jumped out to a 2-1 lead after the three doubles matches, with Brenden Amiotte (Rapid City, S.D.) and Bobby Tiedeman (Euclid, Minn.) collecting an 8-5 win at No. 2 for the Cardinals.
 
Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.) delivered a 6-4, 6-4, straight-set win at No. 6 singles, while Tiedeman outlasted CC's David Schneck 6-2, 4-6, 11-9 at No. 3, and Alex Holm (Red Wing, Minn.) rallied from a set down to beat the Cobbers' Erik Porter  4-6, 6-2, 10-6 at No. 4.
 
The Cardinals (1-4 MIAC, 7-5 overall) are back in action on Friday, traveling to Lifetime Fitness in White Bear Lake, Minn., for a 6:30 p.m. conference match against Macalester.