By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — When it comes to playing Martin Luther, the Saint Mary's University men's tennis team has been untouchable.
 
The Cardinals picked up their 13th straight win against the Knights — and seventh sweep in the last eight meetings — as Saint Mary's rolled to a season-opening 9-0 victory Friday evening at the Winona Tennis Center.
 
"The guys had a great start to the season," said Saint Mary's coach Jeff Halbeg. "We had some outstanding individual performance — and it was good to see us get the season off on the right foot."


The Cardinals' three doubles teams dropped just three games combined to give Saint Mary's a quick 3-0 lead. Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.) led the Cardinals' singles charge with a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 1, while Trevor Smiley (Minnetonka, Minn.), Gabe Graves (Littleton, Colo.), Josh Janssen (Green Bay, Wis.) and Jared Hippman (Bolingbrook, Ill.) all chipped in straight set victories.
 
Brandon Kurilla (Hastings, Minn.) had to battle for his season-opening win at No. 2 singles, bouncing back from a 7-6 loss in the opening set to post a 6-7, 7-5, 10-1 win.
 
The Cardinals (1-0 overall) are right back in action on Saturday, kicking off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a 12:30 p.m. showdown with nationally ranked Carleton at the Winona Tennis Center.