WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's tennis coach Jeff Halberg knew his squad needed to get off to a quick start in its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup against Saint John's Friday evening.
 
There was a quick start, all right—unfortunately for Halberg, it was the Johnnies who got off to a fast start.
 
And once the Johnnies got going, there was no stopping them, as SJU handed Saint Mary's a 9-0 setback at the Winona Tennis Center.
 
"We are a good team," Halberg said. "But Saint John's was just a little better."
 
The Johnnies sandwiched a pair of 8-4 wins around an 8-3 victory in the three doubles matches, before completing the sweep with six straight-set singles wins.
 
Brett Giesen (Cato, Wis.) and Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.) both dropped 7-6 decisions in their first set matches at No. 2 and No. 4, respectively—Giesen falling 7-3 in the tiebreaker, while Sobczak dropped an 8-6 tiebreaker—only to fall by identical 6-4 decisions in their second set.
 
The Cardinals (0-7 MIAC, 4-10 overall) are right back in action on Saturday, traveling to Fox Cities Racquet Club in Appleton Wis., for a 5 p.m. nonconference match against Lawrence.