ROGERS, Minn. — Saint Mary's University men's tennis coach Jeff Halberg knew his Cardinals were going to have their hands full when they squared off against conference-power Bethel in the teams' season-opener Friday night.
 
And, unfortunately for Halberg, the Royals lived up to the hype.
 
The Royals jumped out to a 3-0 lead with three straight 8-2 wins in the three doubles matches, before winning five of the six singles matches in straight sets in dealing the Cardinals an 8-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener at the Rogers Tennis Center.
 
"We competed well tonight," said Halberg. "Bethel is a strong team and we knew they would give us a tough battle. If we play like this (Saturday) against Loras, we should be able to come away with a win."
 
Josh Janssen (Green Bay, Wis.) picked up the Cardinals' lone victory, posting a 6-4, 6-4 victory at No. 3 singles.
 
The Cardinals (0-1 MIAC, 0-1 overall) are right back in action on Saturday, returning home to the Winona Tennis Center for a 12:30 p.m. nonconference match against Loras.