By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. ­ — When the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota and Northwestern women's tennis teams squared off two years ago, the match went right down to the wire — with the Eagles coming away with a hard-fought, 5-4 victory.
 
When the Cardinals left the Winona Tennis Center courts Friday evening, there would be no 5-4 decision — and that was just fine with Cardinal coach Jeff Halberg.
 
The Cardinals picked up five singles wins and a pair of doubles victories, as Saint Mary's recorded its second straight nonconference victory, beating the Eagles 7-2.
 
"I am very pleased with the ladies effort tonight," said Halberg, whose Cardinals opened the season with a 9-0 win over Martin Luther last Friday. "We lost to Northwestern two years ago and we really wanted this match.
 
"Everyone played well and I couldn't be more pleased for all of them."
 
Laura Sonday (West St. Paul, Minn.) and Colleen Lois (Green Bay, Wis.) teamed for an 8-3 win at No. 1 doubles, while Julia Boeve (St. James, Minn.) and Ashley Frederickson (St. James, Minn.) added an 8-1 triumph to give Saint Mary's a 2-1 lead after the three doubles matches.
 
And as good as they were in doubles, the Cardinals were even more dominant in singles — getting straight-set wins from Sonday, Cassandra Barr (Eau Claire, Wis.), Lois, Boeve, and Kennedy Morgan (Green Bay, Wis.) — to seal the victory.
 
The Cardinals (2-0 overall) are now off until next Saturday (Feb. 9), when they travel to St. Peter, Minn., for matches against Gustavus (10 a.m.) and St. Scholastica (2:30 p.m.).