By
DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
SARTELL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's tennis team has had so much fun setting program records this season, they figured they'd add another to the mix Sunday evening.
The Cardinals, owners of the longest winning streak in program history — not to mention boasting the all-time winningest singles player in
Julia Boeve (St. James, Minn.) — claimed another "program best" against Saint Benedict.
Fueled by a marathon 6-3 win over the Bennies, which included three, three-set singles victories, the Cardinals locked up their highest Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference finish — and there's still one conference match to play.
"This team has achieved so much already this season," said Halberg, whose Cardinals — winners of 11 straight — clinched at least a fifth-place finish in the regular-season standings — not to mention a spot in the MIAC's post-season tournament. "Tonight, they just refused to lose — they fought off seven match points in three different matches and came away with a clutch victory."
Saint Benedict jumped out to a 2-1 lead after doubles, with
Laura Sonday (West St. Paul, Minn.) and
Colleen Lois (Green Bay, Wis.) getting the Cardinals' win with a 9-8 (5) victory at No. 1 — a win that saw the Saint Mary's duo hold off three match points.
Despite the 2-1 deficit, the Cardinals would not be denied, as Sonday, Lois, Boeve,
Madyson Schreiber (Edwardsville, Ill.), and
Kailee Johnson (Rochester, Minn.) all came away with singles wins — including three-set victories from Lois, Schreiber, and Johnson. Johnson won her No. 6 singles match with a 10-8 win in the third set, while Lois and Schreiber delivered 11-9 victories in their third sets at No. 3 and No. 5, respectively.
The Cardinals (6-3 MIAC, 13-5 overall) close out their regular-season schedule next weekend at the Winona Tennis Center, hosting Carleton in a 6:30 p.m. MIAC showdown on Friday, before entertaining Luther in a 12:30 p.m. nonconference match the following afternoon.