By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PETER, Minn. — To say that the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's tennis team squared off against a pair of conference heavyweights Saturday would bean understatement.
 
In their first bout of the day, the Cardinals hopped in the ring against Gustavus — the 29-time defending regular-season conference champion and 2018 NCAA Division III national tournament participant.
 
In their second bout, Saint Mary's stepped back into the ring against St. Scholastica — three-time defending Upper Midwest Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament, and also a 2018 NCAA Division III national tournament participant.
 
The Cardinals could not penetrate the Gusties' powerful lineup in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match, as the Gusties picked up straight-set wins in five of the six singles matches, while dropping just seven games in taking all three doubles matches in a 9-0 GAC victory.
 
"The final score really doesn't indicate how well we played (against Gustavus)," said Saint Mary's coach Jeff Halberg. "There were some great points throughout and I'm very happy with the way we performed.
 
Julia Boeve (St. James, Minn.) pushed Gustavus' Lilly Hartman to the limit at No. 3 singles, as the senior opened with a 7-5, Set 1 win, only to drop the next two sets 6-2, 10-4.
 
The Cardinals gave the Saints everything they had in their second match of the day, but when the dust cleared, St. Scholastica escaped with a 5-4 nonconference victory.
 
"That was a tough loss against a tough team," Halberg said of the Saints. "St. Scholastica went to nationals last year, so we knew this would be a great test.
 
"We had three match points at No. 3 singles, that tell you how close this really was — I'm very proud of the way the ladies performed."
 
Laura Sonday (West St. Paul, Minn.) picked up wins in both singles and doubles to pace the Cardinals. The senior teamed with Colleen Lois (Green Bay, Wis.) with an 8-6 win at No. 1 doubles, while adding a straight-set, 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 1 singles.
 
Cassandra Barr (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Julia Boeve (St. James, Minn.) chipped in singles wins for the Cardinals, but it was not enough, as St. Scholastica won two of the three doubles matches and picked up three singles wins — including a marathon 7-6, 6-1, 12-10 win over Lois at No. 3 — to seal the victory.
 
The Cardinals' (0-1 MIAC, 2-2 overall) conference match against Carleton, scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m., has been postponed to a later date due to impending bad weather forecast for Sunday afternoon.