By Donny Nadeau
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — If the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's tennis team had any hopes of qualifying for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoffs for a second straight year, Saturday's showdown against Hamline was a must-win.
 
And win they did.
 
In impressive fashion.
 
The Cardinals—fueled by five straight-set singles wins—picked up their second conference win in the last five days, rolling to an 8-1 victory over the Pipers at the U of M Baseline Tennis Center.
 
"This was a very good win over a much-improved Hamline team," said Saint Mary's coach Jeff Halberg. "We knew if we had any hope of getting back to the playoffs, we had to take care of business today—and the ladies played extremely well."
 
The Cardinals took control from the start, winning all three doubles matches—including a 9-8 (6) marathon win by Laura Sonday (West St. Paul, Minn.) and Colleen Lois (Green Bay, Wis.) at No. 1.
 
And in singles, Saint Mary's was virtually unstoppable, getting straight-set victories from Cassandra Barr (Eau Claire, Wis.), Lois, Julia Boeve (St. James, Minn.), Ashley Frederickson (St. James, Minn.), and Marissa Kinzer (Aitkin, Minn.). Boeve's 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 4 singles was her ninth straight victory, while Sonday had her career-high 11-match winning streak snapped with a loss to Hamline's Ali Kopiecki at No. 1.
 
The Cardinals (4-5 MIAC, 12-8 overall) close out their regular-season schedule on Sunday, hosting Saint Benedict in a noon conference showdown at the Winona Tennis Center.