By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PETER, Minn. — Laura Sonday (West St. Paul, Minn.) kicked off her senior season in style for the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's tennis team.
 
Sonday — the Cardinals' No. 1 singles player each of her first three seasons — began the ITA Midwest Regional Championships by receiving back-to-back byes into the third round, where she rebounded from a 3-6 loss in the opening set to beat Gustavus' Hannah Borgh 3-6, 6-0, 7-5 in her only match of the day Friday.
 
Cassandra Barr (Eau Claire, Wis.) rattled off back-to-back wins over Eliza Sundemann of Coe (2-6, 6-2, 6-1) and UW-Oshkosh's Alyssa Leffler (6-2, 6-3). Julia Boeve (St. James, Minn.) was not as fortunate, falling to Macalester's Laurel Hickey (1-6, 6-4, 6-2) in her opening-round ITA match.
 
Colleen Lois (Green Bay, Wis.) lost to St. Olaf's Kellis Brandt, 6-1, 7-5, but advanced to the second round of the consolation bracket via default.
 
Sonday and Lois, who posted a 17-5 record as a doubles pair last season, came out on the short end of the ITA-opening doubles match, falling to a doubles team from Coe, 8-6.
 
Boeve and Barr, meanwhile, opened doubles play in a winning note, beating a team from UW-Whitewater 8-4.
 
At the Gustavus Fall Invitational — held in conjunction with the ITA Midwest Regional Friday — Ashley Frederickson (St. James, Minn.) kicked off the season with a pair of victories — beating UW-Eau Claire's Riley Persike 8-3 and topping Ellie Hamker of Luther 6-2, 6-3 — to reach the semis of Draw 1. Frederickson's run ended, however, with a 6-1, 6-4 setback against Molly Rueth of UW-Whitewater.
 
Kennedy Morgan (Green Bay, Wis.) and Madyson Schreiber (Edwardsville, Ill.) opened their Saint Mary's careers with wins — Morgan beating Hamline's Janie Swartz 8-7 (5) and Schreiber winning 8-7 (3) over Carroll's Lora Leach.
 
Morgan fell in the second round to Edgewood's Kai Heineman 6-0, 6-0, while Schreiber suffered a 6-4, 6-1 setback at the hands of Macalester's Claire Buehler.
 
Kailee Johnson (Rochester, Minn.) fell short in her collegiate debut, losing 9-7 to Rebekah Spiegelhoff of Concordia (Wis.), while Sarrianna Hoffer (Wausau, Wis.) and Isabella Kranz (Hastings, Minn.) also lost their Saint Mary's debuts — Hoffer falling 8-1 to Gustavus' Rachel Fanciullo and Kranz losing 8-0 to Hamline's Claire Witt.
 
Johnson rebounded with an 8-1 victory over Gustavus' Sarah Link, but was ousted in the next round, 8-1.
 
Hoffer dropped her second match of the tourney, an 8-4 decision to Macalester's Rainah Ward, while Kranz was eliminated with an 8-2 loss to Maddie Lubben of Bethel.
 
Emily Strezisher dropped an 8-7 (1) decision to Concordia's Carrie Voss to open tournament play, before bouncing back with an 8-1 win over Mia Andrae of Concordia (Wis.). Strezisher's run ended, however, with an 8-2 setback against Northwestern's Marlee Rinta.
 
Barr and Boeve teamed to an 8-4 win against UW-Whitewater to kick off doubles action at the Gustavus Fall Invitational, while Frederickson-Schreiber added an 8-2 win against Wartburg.  Strezisher and Kranz suffered an 8-2 loss to Gustavus in their doubles opener.
 
The tournament continues Saturday and Sunday at Gustavus' Swanson Tennis Center.