By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's tennis team closed out its two-match Saturday in similar — albeit more dramatic fashion — outlasting Wartburg 5-4 at the Winona Tennis Center.
 
The Cardinals, coming off a 7-2 nonconference win over St. Norbert earlier in the day, raced out to a commanding 3-0 lead after the three doubles matches against the Knights, only to have Wartburg rebound in singles to take a 4-3 lead.
 
Saint Mary's answered with clutch, three-set wins from both Bobby Tiedemann (Euclid, Min.) and Gabe Graves (Columbine, Colo.) to seal the win. Tiedemann posted a 6-4, 3-6, 10-4 win at No. 2, while Graves posted a 6-2, 3-6, 10-2 win at No. 5.
 
The Cardinals opened the match with 8-4, 8-4, and 8-7 (5) wins from Tiedemann/Trevor Smiley (Minnetonka, Minn.), Alec Rudh (Hastings, Minn.)/Brandon Kurilla (Hastings, Minn.), and Graves/Brandon Johnson (St. James, Minn.), respectively, to grab the early 3-0 lead — and set up the dramatic singles finish.
 
The Cardinals (4-2 overall) are back in action next Friday and Saturday, when they hit the road for pair of conference contests at the University of Minnesota Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn. Saint Mary's will face Bethel at 7 p.m. on Friday, before squaring off against St. Thomas at 4 p.m. the following day.