WINONA, MINN. – To say the Saint Mary's University women's tennis team's season has been historic may actually be an understatement.
Entering Saturday's nonconference dual match against Luther College, the Cardinals had already clinched their ticket to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, their second such berth in the last three years. On Saturday, Saint Mary's decided to add a cherry on top of its incredible season, as the team took down Luther for the first time in program history by a final score of 6-3.
"In a season of firsts, we set another one," women's tennis head coach
Jeff Halberg said after the dual. "These ladies finish the regular season with an excellent victory over Luther College."
Saint Mary's wasted no time taking an early 2-1 lead over the Norse in doubles play, as the team earned wins at the No. 2 and 3 spots.
Cassandra Barr (Eau Claire, Wis.) and
Kennedy Morgan (Green Bay, Wis.) got things started with a quick 8-4 win as the No. 2 doubles team, while the No. 3 team of
Julia Boeve (St. James, Minn.) and
Marissa Kinzer (Aitkin, Minn.) gave Saint Mary's the 2-1 advantage in the dual with an 8-6 win.
The No. 1 team of
Laura Sonday (West St. Paul, Minn.) and
Colleen Lois (Green Bay, Wis.) played by far the most thrilling match of the day. The two battled to a tiebreaker in their doubles match, as they did not drop a single game in the set, resulting in the 8-8 draw. Sadly, the senior/sophomore duo came up short in the tiebreaker, falling to Luther's No. 1 doubles team 9-8 (2).
The Cardinals earned four wins in singles play to clinch the historic 6-3 victory over the Norse. Seniors Sonday and Boeve closed their nonconference careers with Saint Mary's with two wins as the team's No. 1 and 4 singles players. Sonday won in straight sets 6-1, 6-0 as the No. 1 singles player, while Boeve took down her opponent without dropping a game, winning in decisive fashion by scores of 6-0, 6-0.
Madyson Schreiber (Edwardsville, Ill.) and
Kailee Johnson (Rochester, Minn.) were the other two Cardinals to earn wins on Saturday. As the No. 5 singles player, Schreiber won in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, while Johnson took down her opponent 6-2, 6-4 at the No. 6 spot
Lois and Barr both battled as the team's No. 2 and 3 singles players, but ultimately fell to their opponents. Lois fell at the No. 2 spot 6-2, 6-2, while Barr fell in straight sets 6-1, 6-1.
With the win, Saint Mary's concludes the regular season with an overall record of 14-6 and a 6-4 mark in MIAC play. The Cardinals will open the MIAC playoffs on May 1. More information regarding Saint Mary's opening round opponent will be made available in the upcoming days.
