By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
SUPERIOR, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's tennis team closed out the road portion of its schedule in grand fashion Wednesday afternoon, as the Cardinals jumped out to a 3-0 lead and hung on to beat UW-Superior 5-4.
 
"It was a very close match," said Saint Mary's coach Jeff Halberg. "Because of the weather, we had to move the match to the UW-Superior Fieldhouse — and that certainly worked in (Superior's favor).
 
"We came out strong in the doubles portion, and then played just well enough in singles to get the win."
 
The Cardinals were unstoppable in doubles — but it wasn't easy.
 
Bobby Tiedemann (Euclid, Minn.) and Brandon Kurilla (Hastings, Minn.) won a marathon 8-7 match at No. 1, while Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.)/Trevor Smiley (Minnetonka, Minn.) were 8-5 victors at No. 2 and Alec Rudh (Hastings, Minn.)/Gabe Graves (Columbine, Colo.) added an 8-6 win at No. 3.
 
Sobczak and Rudh completed the Cardinal nonconference win, posting straight-set singles wins at No. 2 and No. 3.
 
The Cardinals (7-11 overall) close out their 2019 season on Saturday, hosting Luther in a 12:30 p.m. nonconference match at the Winona Tennis Center.